Hope
by Snow on a Sunny Day
Summary: Through a growing friendship may come unwanted feelings. And with unwanted feelings, romances begin and friendships may be lost. What will be the affect of a growing love and a desperate enemy? TrunksXOC: Changed to rating M for adult themes & situations
1. Day At Work

Hope

Satori/Trunks

Trunks Briefs nibbled on the end of his pen, reading something his mother, Bulma Briefs, had sent up. He hated filling out paper work and he really didn't feel like being at work. As he contemplated jumping out of the window and flying away, a sudden knock on his door startled him.

"Come in!"

"Here are those papers you wanted Mr. Briefs." Nineteen year old Satori Son said as she walked into Trunks Briefs' office.

Trunks looked up and he pointed to a corner on his desk. "Place them there Ms. Son."

Satori placed the signed papers on the desk like Trunks instructed her to. She then sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Almost time to go." Satori said and she looked at the paperwork on his desk. "Did your mom send that up to you?"

"Yeah." Trunks sighed. "Could you fill it out for me?"

"Um no. You know I don't like filling out paperwork." Satori said with a laugh.

"You suck."

Satori laughed and she looked at the clock to see that work was over. And as usual, hordes of girls were outside Trunks' office, waiting to see him.

"Your fan club is here Trunks." Satori said hearing the giggles of her many ditzy co-workers.

Trunks sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Satori, be my best friend and distract them."

"No way dude! I'm not covering for you again! One of those girls outside almost made me angry!" Satori said crossing her arms over her chest.

Trunks laughed at her. "How?" He thought for a moment. "And who's this girl that almost made you angry?"

"I think her name's Julie or something." Satori looked at Trunks. "She thought that we were..." she cringed "_dating_!"

Trunks lifted an eyebrow. "She thought we were dating? Why would she think that?"

"She said and I quote, '_He always calls you to his office and you're always around him doing things for him._' Hello, it's called being your secretary for crying out loud!" Satori said dramatically, placing her feet on Trunks' desk.

Trunks laughed at Satori again, earning him one of her famous hateful look. He stood up and went over to his window, contemplating flying out of it like he usually did. Satori watched him for a minute and she sighed, leaning her back against the chair she sat in.

"So…are you escaping through the window?" Satori asked in a bored voice, closing her eyes.

Trunks turned back to her. "I'm thinking about it."

Satori opened one dark eye. "What's there to think about?" Before Trunks could answer she walked over to his door, looking back at him. "You're going to owe me for this Briefs."

Trunks smiled at her. "Thank you Satori."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Satori walked out of the office to distract Trunks' fan club.


	2. NOT DATING

Out in the hall, many of the girls groaned when they saw that the person coming of Trunks' office was Satori. Satori lifted an eyebrow and her dark eyes flashed as she leaned against the door.

"Don't worry. I'm upset I have to come out here too." Satori said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Where's Trunks? We came here to see him not you." A dark haired girl named Raven said placing her hands on her hips.

"He's busy." Satori said. "Now go away. Don't you girls think Trunks gets tired of having you outside his door everyday?"

The girls thought about that for a while. While a few girls finally decided to leave, a lot more stayed and it was really pissing Satori off. Julie, the girl that almost made Satori angry before, stepped up to her.

"Why are you keeping us from him? Is it because you actually _are_ dating him and want him all for yourself?" Julie asked.

Satori groaned, rubbing her temples. "For the last time; I'm going to only tell you this once more Julie. Trunks and I are not and I repeat _**ARE NOT**_ dating!"

Julie lifted an eyebrow, as though she didn't believe her. Her blue eyes had the look reading _'I-know-you're-lying-to-me.'_ Satori threw up her hands and she walked back into Trunks' office.

"You're on your own! I can't afford to angry today." Satori said and she started to walk out again.

"Wait Satori!" Trunks walked over to her. "What's so special about today?"

Satori looked at Trunks. "Today is the day my cousin comes into town."

"What cousin?" Trunks knew all of Satori's family.

"My cousin Mei. You haven't met here before because she lives in the U.S." Satori opened the office door. "But you'll meet her soon. I'll bring her here tomorrow. That is, if that's okay with you."

Trunks thought for a moment. "Okay..." he smiled a little at his friend. "Have a safe trip home. Don't blow up anything or anyone."

"Aw, I won't. See ya tomorrow Trunks!" Satori waved and walked out of his office.

The wind blew through Satori's hair as she drove to the airport to pick up her five year old cousin. At the age of nineteen, Satori was a beautiful young woman with the dark hair of her parents, Videl and Gohan, and the dark, determined eyes of her father. Satori finally reached the airport and she parked near the front. After locking the door, she walked inside the buys airport and looked around for her cousin. She saw a young girl holding a sign that said "Satori" and she smiled when she approached her cousin Mei.

"Hello Mei." Satori hugged her. "How was your trip?"

"It was okay." Mei said, clutching her pink and purple luggage bag at her side. "Are we leaving now?"

"Yup." Satori replied and she picked up Mei's bag. It was heavy, even for her. "Mei, what do you have in here?"

Mei shrugged. "My mom packed my bag."

Satori sighed, thinking about her Aunt Mirei. Whenever she went on vacation she always over packed. Mei took Satori's free hand and they walked out of the airport. Many people kept asking Satori if Mei was her daughter and it began to become _very _annoying.

"Do we _REALLY_ look that much alike Mei?" Satori asked, throwing her bag in the backseat of her car.

"I guess so." Mei placed on her seatbelt and waited for Satori to get in.

On the way back to Satori's home, Satori found herself glancing at her cousin constantly. Mei reminded her of how she and her twin sister Pan looked when they were her age. She had dark hair like them but her eyes were blue, just like her mother's. Finally, they arrived at Satori's home and Mei jumped out of the car. Gohan and Videl were already outside by the time Satori pulled up, ready to greet their guest.

"Hello Mei." Videl said when Mei hugged her and Gohan. "Have a nice trip?"

"Yes!" Mei said happily.

"Where's Pan? Did she go to work today?" Satori asked her father, handing him Mei's bag.

Gohan nodded. "She should be here any minute now. She said she was leaving work early."

Satori scoffed. "I bet she is." She walked into the house.


	3. The Son Family

An hour later, Pan Son finally came home while the rest of the family was eating dinner.

"I'm home!" Pan chirped closing the front door behind her.

"Pan!" Mei jumped up from her chair and ran high-speed over to Pan, hugging her tightly.

"Hey Mei!" Pan hugged her cousin tightly.

"About time you got here Panny-chan!" Satori smiled at her sister.

Pan made a face. "Don't call me that Satori! You know I hate that nickname."

"I know. That's why I keep calling you that." Satori laughed as her sister made another face at her.

"Okay girls, enough teasing." Videl smiled at her daughters. "So how was work Satori?"

"BAD!!" Satori said in a dramatic manner. "As usual, I was distracting Trunks' fan club and that girl I told you almost made me mad again!"

"You're talking about Julie aren't you?" Pan asked sitting down in the chair beside Satori.

"I surely am. That female irks my nerves!" Satori replied and Pan laughed. "I'm ready to fight her."

"Satori, don't fight her. We don't want her hurt. You know you can't control yourself sometimes." Gohan warned.

Satori looked at him and she sighed. "Okay so I won't fight her." _Not yet anyway._

"Good. Now come on Satori! I have something to tell you!" Pan pulled her sister up and dragged her up to the bedroom they shared.

Once in the bedroom, Satori sat on the bed and she watched as her sister closed the door. "Okay, what's so important that you had to drag me up here?"

"I got that promotion I told you about!" Pan said happily.

Satori jumped up and she hugged Pan tightly. "Congrats!"

"Thank you, thank you." Pan bowed in a hilarious way, making Satori laugh. "I can finally make the amount of money I want."

"Cool." Satori rubbed Pan's head.

Satori noticed that her sister had really grown up from the bandana wearing teen she grew up with. She was still the same temperamental Pan she had always been, but she really grew out of her rebellious stage.

"Umm Satori…stop staring at me like that!" Pan said pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Oops sorry." Satori smiled. "So are you going to tell mama and daddy?"

Pan shrugged. "I will later."

"Don't wait too long." Satori sat on her bed again.

"Now that we're done talking about me, let's talk about what's been going on at your job." Pan sat next to her. "Does Trunks know about Julie?"

Satori nodded. "I told him today. He just laughed at me, like usual." Satori sighed. "I wonder does he even take me seriously sometimes."

"I bet he does. But remember, he's always been like that." Pan rubbed her sister's hair.

"I know." Satori smiled softly to herself. "He'll never change, that's one thing we can be sure of."

"Yup!"

Satori leaned back on her bed and she stared at the ceiling. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Pan get up and go over to their closet. She sat up when she saw Pan pull out some clothes.

"Pan what are you doing?" Satori asked.

"We're getting out of the house. We haven't been out anywhere in the longest! Let's go have fun." Pan pulled her sister up.

Before Satori could protest, Pan pushed her into the bathroom and she laid the clothes on the counter.

"Now shower and get dressed!" Pan said before closing the door.

Satori sighed and turned on the water for her shower. _Guess I don't have a choice huh?_ She thought to herself, chuckling a little.


	4. Going Out

"Pan, I look like a freak!" Satori said to her sister as she stared at herself in the full-length mirror.

"No you don't! You look CUTE!" Pan said placing her hands on her shoulders.

Satori lifted an eyebrow. Pan had dressed her in a silver shiny shirt that tied up around the neck and back and a pair of black pants with a dragon in silver glitter going up the right leg. Silver eye shadow was on her eyes and shimmering gloss topped off her lips. After curling one last curl in the back, Pan styled her sister's hair in a river of loose flowing ring curls.

"Now with the right shoes, you'll look great!" Pan ran over to their closet and she pulled out a pair of black strappy heels. "Put these on."

Satori took the heels reluctantly and she put them on. She looked herself over in the mirror again and for a moment she thought she saw someone else. A small smile came to her lips as she allowed Pan to apply glitter lotion to her slightly tanned skin.

"Ya know Pan…I think I _actually_ look okay." Satori turned and smiled at her sister.

Pan put her hands on her hips and her smiled matched Satori's. "Of course you do! I told you that!"

Satori eyed her sister's outfit. Pan wore a pretty white spaghetti strapped shirt with rhinestones in the shape of a heart in the middle and dark blue pants. Her hair flowed down her back in a waterfall and it flipped out at the end.

"You look cute too." Satori smiled at Pan, as she placed many bangles on her wrists.

"Arigato Satori!" Pan chirped.

Pan's cell rang and she dashed over to her bed to pick it up before it stopped ringing.

"Hello!" Pan said happily. "Hey Bra, what's up…WHAT?!...Why not? Ugh, fine!" Pan hung up the phone.

"What?" Satori looked at her sister.

"I told her to call Marron and see if she would come to, but she can't." Pan pouted.

"Oh well." Satori said. She opened the bedroom door. "Come on. Let's go." She walked out.

Pan followed her sister, her bottom lip still poked out. When their heels hit the floor, Videl and Gohan looked up at them.

"Where are you two going?" Gohan asked, in his authority tone.

"We're going out." Satori replied.

"Wearing that?" Gohan eyed their outfits.

"Yup! Bye!" the twins ran out of the house and took to the sky.

Their laughs rang out into the sky as they heard Gohan run out of the house and shout warnings at them.

"So where are we going Pan?" Satori asked.

"Um…well we're stopping at Capsule Corp. I asked Trunks and Bra to go with us."

"WHAT?!" Satori stopped in mid-air. "You asked _Trunks_?!"

"Yea. Is that a big deal?" Pan wondered.

Satori sighed. "No." as they kept flying, she sighed again. _Great…I have to see Trunks again today._ She smiled a little.


	5. I told him you were coming

"TRUNKS!!! THEY'RE HERE!" Bra yelled as she ran downstairs to open the front door for her friends. "Hey you guys. What's up?"

"Hey you! Are you ready for tonight?" Pan asked, walking into the house.

"Yup!" Bra looked over at Satori, noticing that her friend's eyes were to the floor. "Satori, you okay?"

Satori looked up, startled from Bra's question. She nodded her head a little before looking back to the ground. Bra looked at her friend quizzically then gave Pan a questioning look. Pan shrugged at Bra's look, indicating she didn't know what was wrong with her sister. Bra turned back to Satori to ask her what was wrong when Bulma, Trunks and Bra's mother, walked in the room.

"Hello you two. Haven't seen you in a while." Bulma smiled at them.

"Hello Bulma!" Pan and Satori hugged her.

"You three going out tonight I presume?"

"Yes. Trunks is coming with us." Bra smiled. "I had to force him to come. Wanna know how?"

"How?" Bulma looked at her daughter.

"By telling him that Satori was coming."

"NANI?!" Satori spoke up, staring at her friend in horror.

"I had to tell him something. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come along."

"Bra!" Satori was distressed. Her voice went down a few octaves, barely above a whisper. "I didn't want him to know I was coming."

"Too late." Bra patted Satori's hair, earning her an evil glare.

Someone coming down the stairs caught the girls' attention. Satori's eyes moved towards the stairs and she gasped, seeing Trunks walking down the stairs. He wasn't dressed up; he just wore a white shirt and a pair of jeans, but boy did he look HOT! Satori stared, praying her staring wasn't obvious...or that her mouth didn't fly open when she saw him. Pan waved a hand in front of her face to break her sister out of her trance.

"Satori…blink!"

Satori blinked and looked at her smirking sister. Pan leaned close to her, whispering in her ear. "Don't stare too hard. He'll notice."

Satori flushed and looked down. Pan laughed and patted her sister's shoulder as she looked over at Trunks. "Lookin' good there Mr. Briefs."

"Thanks." Trunks said, tying up his shoe before standing upright. "Ready to go?"

"Yup!" Bra said. "Uub can't make it, so it looks like it's just us four tonight!" she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Satori slightly seethed. Bra was so pretty to her; sometimes when they stood next to each other, her friend's looks made her feel ugly. True, both girls were beautiful in their own way, but looks wise, Satori thought Bra would win a beauty contest between the two of them. She couldn't stand how Bra would always fuss over her looks, saying things like, 'I'm ugly' and 'why would any guy like me?'

And each time Satori would answer, "Because you're a beautiful girl and you have a nice personality…when you want." _She's so pretty, but yet, so dumb._ Satori thought to herself. Bra looked over at her, lifting a questioning eyebrow.

"Something wrong Satori?"

"Iie! Nothing's wrong." Satori flushed a little from embarrassment; she hadn't meant for her friend to notice her looking.

"Well come on! Let's go!" Bra was heading out the door.

"Have fun!" Bulma called.

"Bye!" All four responded before going out into the cool night.

"Okay, this is the plan. We'll take my car. Satori, you sit in the front seat, Trunks you drive."

Satori's eyes widened then she glared at Bra. She was trying to play matchmaker…again. Pan nudged her sister in the arm, smiling sweetly at her. _So Pan's in it too?_ She sighed. _Ya know…I wish I could just drop dead right about now._


	6. The Club

Trunks flushed slightly, thankful that they couldn't really see his face in the dark. Sure he didn't mind driving, but being next to Satori made him nervous. He hadn't had a problem being near her before, but something was different; he found himself thinking of her more than usual and often wondered what she was doing every moment of the day. His piercing blue eyes looked over to her, only to see that she was staring at the ground. She looked so shy right then, he was beginning to wonder if he was staring at the same outgoing Satori Son that worked for him and had been his friend since they were children.

The silence between the four of them was unbearable. Satori had to talk sooner or later or she would explode. She sighed and looked up at her sister and friends, a bright smile on her face.

"So are we going out or are we going to just stand out here all night?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips, her smile still on her face.

Bra smiled and hopped into the backseat of her convertible car where Pan was already sitting. "Well come on! All the hot guys will be gone by the time we get there!"

Satori rolled her eyes and moved to open the passenger door. Trunks beat her to it though.

"Let me open it for you." He smiled at her.

Satori's heart jumped at his smile. She got into the car and tried to control her breathing as Trunks closed the door and moved around to the driver's side, getting in.

The ride to the club was loud. Bra and Pan laughed loudly as they talked about things going on in the world. The front seats were quiet, as Trunks and Satori didn't talk. The silence was killing Trunks, but he didn't want to talk. Even though he hated not being able to say anything to her, the silence they shared was somewhat comforting. He stole a glance at her…then another. Satori was staring out the window, hair blowing from the wind. The moonlight shone down on her dark locks, making them shine.

She was breathtaking. Without realizing it, Satori proved to be one of the most beautiful women Trunks had ever seen. This new feeling he had about her beauty was strange to him and he tore his gazes away, focusing on the drive to the club.

The hottest club in Japan loomed in the distance. Bra leaned over the seat to talk to Satori.

"Hey Satori, are you ready to have fun tonight?"

She smiled. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

After valet parking, the four of them walked to the entrance. There was already a long line and the twins felt kinda bad for skipping all of them. Bra and Trunks talked to the bouncer for a few moments and the four of them were let in. This surprised Satori; neither she nor Pan had had to pay. She asked Bra about this when they were a corner of the club.

"Let's just say the power of money does things to people." She smirked deviously.

"You tipped the bouncer?" Satori blinked, shocked.

"Hai!" Bra smiled and she grabbed Satori's arm. "Come on! Let's go get a drink!"

As she was dragged along, Satori sighed. _This night is going to be interesting. I can tell._

Trunks watched Satori, Bra, and Pan dancing around from his place at the bar. He smirked as one guy whispered something to Satori and she shook her head, the defiant Saiyan look coming to her eyes. _That guy doesn't know who he's dealing with…Satori's a handful._ As that thought left his brain, the young woman walked over, smiling at him.

"Why are you out mingling and meeting people? Or, in simpler words, having fun?" Satori sat on the barstool beside his own.

"I'm having fun." He said. _Watching you is fun enough._

"If you say so." Satori turned to the bartender and ordered a drink. She then turned back to Trunks. "So Trunks…need me to do anything tomorrow?"

Trunks smiled. She was always thinking about her job. "Don't worry about doing anything right now. Just have fun tonight, okay?"

Satori smiled also and hugged him. "I will." She grabbed her drink when the bartender set it down and she winked at Trunks. "See you in a few." She walked off.

Trunks continued to watch her. It had been a while since he'd seen her having fun and it made him happy seeing her that way. He began thinking about her; the way a tiny dimple would show in her right cheek when she smiled and how angry she got when someone bugged her to no end at the office. He also thought about their sparring matches together in the gravity room at Capsule Corp, and how she would always claim he cheated when she lost.

"_Trunks, you cheated!" Satori cried, lying on the floor, dark eyes staring at him._

"_I didn't cheat Satori. You just didn't beat me…again." He smirked, looking so much like his father._

"_That's because you cheated!" _

As he watched her move around the club, he smirked. _Maybe next time we spar, I'll let her win._

**Author: Okay, now I think that this is my longest chapter. So...let me know how you like it!**


	7. Leaving So Soon?

"Satori, come over here please!" Bra called.

Satori turned to see her friend surrounded by a group of guys…as usual. She sighed as she walked over.

"Satori, this is Jason, Mark, Yuki, and Ryo. You guys, this is Satori, the girl I was telling you about." Bra introduced all of them.

Satori gave Bra a look but looked back at the guys, a polite smile on her face. "Nice to meet all of you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Ms. Satori." Yuki took her hand in his and planted a kiss on top of it.

Satori flushed and Bra rolled her eyes. "Now that you've met, will you excuse us?"

Before they could answer Bra pulled Satori a little ways away from them.

"So…what do you think about them?" She asked.

"They seem…okay. But why were you telling them about me?" Satori questioned, lifting an eyebrow.

"Well um…you know how you're single and all…."

"Bra! You were trying to hook me up with one of them?!" Satori was becoming slightly angry. "Why?!"

"Because Satori…you know the only girls that Trunks likes are usually bimbos."

That struck a nerve in Satori. She only looked at Bra for a moment before turning away and leaving. She found her sister talking with some guy, so she decided to leave her alone. She moved blindly through the club, heading for the exit. A grip on her arm made her freeze in place.

"Hey…where ya going little lady?" The sound of a drunken man's voice slurred in her ear.

"Let me go." Satori said, not looking to him.

"Aw, come have some fun with me. I'll make it worth your while."

"Leave me alone!"

She snatched her arm away, walking away. A group of drunken men surrounded her, blocking her way.

"Leaving so soon? We haven't gotten acquainted yet." One of the men said.

"And I don't want to." Satori's eyes were hard.

"Aw, come on don't be so mean." He grabbed her around the waist.

Satori was instantly terrified. Even though she could easily take the men out, drunken men scared her to the point she couldn't move. As his had traveled up her leg, she called out the only name she could think of at that moment.

"TRUNKS!!"

As in a blur, the men moved back and Satori was trembling in Trunks arms. The man that had been holding Satori was now in a bloody pulp on the ground. A hard look crossed Trunks' face.

"Anyone else want to touch her?" He asked in a cold voice.

The men went away quickly. Bra and Pan came over.

"Satori!" Pan hugged her sister. "Are you okay?"

Satori nodded, still a little shaken. She felt herself being pulled into strong arms once again and she was amazed that she didn't turn beet red right then and there.

"Can we go home?" She asked softly.

Bra nodded. They left the club, going back to Bra's car. Satori sat in the backseat with Bra, resting her head on her friend's lap as she stroked her hair. Besides the fact that she didn't like drunken men, she had grown tired.

"Hey Pan, Satori, want to spend the night over my house?" Bra asked.

Satori chuckled softly. All three girls were nearing the age of twenty, but that didn't stop them from having sleepovers as though they were still fourteen. Pan looked at her sister from over her shoulder who nodded. Pan then looked at Bra.

"I guess we will. But we don't have any clothes with us." Pan said.

"You could always borrow my clothes." Bra replied.

"Sorry to tell you Bra, but yours clothes just doesn't fit me right." Satori spoke up softly.

"Maybe because she buys all of her clothes too tight." Pan quipped and she giggled.

"Whatever. Guys love my clothes."

"I'm sure they do." Satori said, giggling also.


	8. Dreaming

Once back at Capsule Corp, Pan and Bra got out. When Satori got out also, Trunks grabbed her arm lightly, causing her to look at him with dark eyes.

"What is it Trunks?"

"Are you okay? That man didn't hurt you did he?" His blue eyes shown with concern.

Satori shook her head. "I'm fine Trunks…and no he didn't hurt me. Just frightened me is all."

Trunks nodded, but still didn't let her go. He stared into the dark eyes that the Son family shared, noting the slight fear that still lingered there. He never realized how much emotion could pour from her eyes until then. They changed emotion; she was shy now. Even the dark, he noticed a faint blush crossing her cheeks as he searched her eyes. Trunks moved his hand down to hers, pulling her closer.

"Satori?"

"H-hai?" She stuttered, not used to being so close to him.

Before he could say anything, Bra whistled. They turned to see Bra and Pan watching them, smirking. Satori moved away from him quickly, the blush on her cheeks more evident.

"Hey Satori, come on. We're going to have a girls' night in." Bra said.

"Coming!" Satori ran over and walked with them inside.

Trunks stared after her, sighing when she disappeared. What did he want to say to her; he didn't know until she was gone. He shook his head, ridding himself the images of her dark eyes. Not wanting to go in the house at the moment, he took to the sky, flying slowly.

* * *

Once in Bra's room, she gave the twins night clothes. Pan saw nothing wrong with the short shorts and tank Bra made her wear; but Satori was different. Ever since that night when they were thirteen, she no longer wore shorts in Bra's house.

**Flashback**

"_Hey Satori, I dare you to go into my brother's room wearing these." Bra held up a black pair of shorts that were a little too short for Satori._

"_Umm…how about not?" Satori lifted an eyebrow. _

"_Aw, come on! You don't have to go to his room. Just put them on." Bra gave her puppy eyes._

_Satori sighed. "Fine." That had been the biggest mistake of her life at the time._

True, Bra didn't make her go into Trunks' room…she brought _him_ in her room. What made matters worse was how Trunks looked at her when he saw her. Hating the scrutiny he put her under, she ducked into the bathroom, hearing Bra's laughing from behind the door. Since then, she never trusted Bra and shorts together.

"Here Satori. You get to wear pants." Bra held out pajama pants and a white tank.

"Thanks." Satori went to change.

A few minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom, rolling up the legs of the pajama pants a little. They were a blue flannel and had the Capsule Corp symbol on them in white. Since they weren't going to be doing much, Satori had brushed her hair in a high ponytail, the curls in her hair still intact.

"So Satori…what were you and Trunks talking about?" Bra asked.

Satori had been drinking from a water bottle she snagged from Bra's refrigerator and she choked when Bra asked the question. She coughed, trying to catch her breath. Pan hit her on the back until her coughing died down.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah."

"Good. Now answer the question."

"He asked me was I okay and if that guy hurt me." Satori said.

"And?"

"That's it." Satori studied her friend. "Why?"

"No reason." Bra said.

The girls had a ball. Being the perfect make-up artist she was born to be, Satori did her twin and friend's make-up, making look so much prettier than normal. Pan styled their hair while Bra added the perfect touch to their hot pj look. Satori laughed as they all posed in front of the mirror.

"Okay so we _basically_ got all made-up and done up for?" She asked, smiling.

"So we can make pajamas look smokin!" Bra answered, striking another pose.

"But we can do that without the make-up and hair-dos." Pan looked at them.

"True." Bra and Satori agreed, laughing.

It was time for bed. The girls washed off all the make-up and climbed into Bra's huge bed, with the blue haired girl in the middle.

"Good night you two." Bra said sleepily.

"Good night…" They echoed, soon falling asleep.

* * *

She was so cold.

Satori climbed out of bed an hour ago, sitting in a corner of Bra's bedroom. She and Pan were still sleeping; neither of them knowing that she was up alone. Goosebumps were on her arms and legs and she shivered, even though it wasn't that cold in room. What was happening to her?

An icy chill ran down her spine.

It took all she could not to cry out at that moment. She had to move around. She left the room quietly and walked down the stairs cautiously. The last time she had spent the night with Bra, her father Vegeta, had been in the kitchen eating. She hated interrupting him then; he got testy. Seeing that he wasn't anywhere in sight, she went into the kitchen. _Maybe eating will take this chill away._ She thought to herself.

She opened the refrigerator, pulling out cold cuts. With three Saiyans in the house, Bulma had to stock up on food to maintain their un-human appetites. Finding some bread in the cupboard, Satori decided to make ten sandwiches. It wouldn't really fill her up, but it was a start. Once they were made, she sat at the kitchen table, eating.

Mid-bite, her dark eyes looked up, narrowing. She felt a power level near by, not too far away from the kitchen. A shadow moved in the darkness and she locked onto it, trying to figure out whose power level it was. The figure stepped into the kitchen and Satori gasped quietly.

"What are you doing up Satori? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Trunks asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

She sighed with relief. "I should, but I couldn't." She watched as he sat down across from her at the table. "Want some?" she motioned to the sandwiches she still had left.

He took one and began eating it slowly. Satori went back to eating, feeling his eyes on her the whole time. Once all the sandwiches were gone, Satori cleaned up her mess. She blushed slightly, knowing that his hard blue eyes were watching her intently.

"Trunks…why are you staring at me like that?" Satori asked, not facing him.

He didn't answer. She heard him get up and walk behind her. She was standing by the wall, putting the bread up. Trunks spun her around to face him and before she could cry out in surprise, he silenced her by placing his lips on hers. Her eyes widened in surprise.

He pushed her again the wall gently, kissing her heatedly. Satori returned his kiss, still a little surprised, but hey, this was what she wanted for a long time. His lips left hers, only to trail hot kisses down her neck. She tensed as she heard him whisper in her ear.

"_Satori…I…I love..."_

* * *

"SATORI WAKE UP!!!" Bra yelled in her friend's ear.

Satori shot up, crying out in surprise. She looked around confused. She was in bed. _Was I…dreaming? _She thought to herself. She looked at Bra.

"Have I been here the whole night?" She asked.

"Well duh! I got up really early this morning and you were still sleeping."

Satori looked down at the comforter. _So…I was dreaming…I never kissed Trunks…_ she thought sadly to herself. _It was all a dream..._


	9. Thoughts

Bra studied Satori carefully. She blinked, seeing that her friend looked upset about something; but what? Usually, she would ask what was wrong, but now didn't seem like the right time. She looked out of the window; when she saw her brother this morning, he looked the same as Satori did now. _What's going on with these two? Why are they both so sad? _

"Bra?"

She turned to Satori, looking at her with blue that matched that of her mother's. "Yes?"

She smiled softly. "Just to let you know…I'm stealing these pajamas. They're comfortable." She got out of bed.

"Hey, I like those! You can't steal them." Bra protested.

"Watch me." Satori ran into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

* * *

Trunks woke up to laughing. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He didn't see anyone in his room but he could hear laughing from the outside of his door. It flew open and Bra ran in, Satori in tow. They jumped on his bed, happily.

"Wakey, wakey Trunks!" Bra said.

"Time to get up!" Satori added.

"Off my bed. Both of you." Trunks growled.

They jumped off, sitting on his floor cross legged. He studied them, raising an eyebrow.

"Where's Pan?" He questioned.

"She had to leave early. But she'll be back!" Bra announced.

Trunks looked to Satori. He noticed that she was all smiles and giggles; and that only happened when she was trying to cover up something or was really happy about something. Shaking away his thoughts, he disappeared into the bathroom to shower. Meanwhile, both girls continued to sit on the floor.

"So…" Bra looked at Satori. "Why did you look so sad when you woke up?"

Satori blinked and looked at her. "No reason." She looked down once more.

"I don't believe that you know." Bra stated.

Satori only shrugged, looking up when she heard a door open; Trunks was out of his shower, dressed. She stared at him. His skin was slightly red from his shower and his hair still dripped water.

Trunks felt eyes on him. He discreetly glanced over his shoulder, seeing that Satori was watching him. He blushed slightly and turned to face her and his sister, leaning against his dresser.

"Now why are you two in here again?" He asked.

"We came to wake you." Bra said. She stopped when she heard her phone ringing in another room. "I'll be back!" she ran out.

_Great…we're alone…_ Trunks thought gulping slightly. Satori lay on his floor, staring at the ceiling. He was watching her once again.

There was something about her that made it hard for him to take his eyes away. From his position, he could see that she was thinking. Her eyes looked thoughtful, a look he didn't see often. The window in his room was open and the light from the sun came down on her, making her glow. For a moment, those dark eyes he found himself dreaming about at night turned to him, looking at him curiously.

"Um Trunks…you okay?" she asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He cleared his throat.

Satori went back to staring at the ceiling. Trunks gasped a mental image he had then, face aflame. It wasn't appropriate for him to think such ways about her but….he guessed his hormones thought differently.

"Satori…"

Satori looked over at him once more. "Yeah?" She stood and walked over to him. "What is it?"

"You looked bored." Trunks stated.

"I was." Satori smiled. "But since I'm over here now, I'm not so bored anymore."

Trunks heart fluttered at her smile. Kami, she was beautiful. Satori studied him for a minute, before lifting a hand to place it to his forehead. He caught her wrist, staring boldly in her eyes, just like the night before. Satori gasped quietly, feeling his grip on her wrist tighten only a little. She lost herself in his eyes as he did in hers.

Her eyes were so beautiful. He was lost in their pools of darkness, never wanting to leave. She was surrounded by the blue of his eyes, feeling as though she was flying through the sky. Neither one of them noticed how close they had gotten…or the fact that they were leaning towards each other slowly. They were a fraction apart when Bra walked back in.

"Sat-" Bra stopped, wide eyed.

Satori and Trunks looked over at her then back at each other. Satori moved away from him, sliding her hand away. Their faces were both red, each realizing one thing. _We were about to…_

"Who was on the phone Bra?" Satori asked.

"Oh…that was Pan. She's on her way back." She looked at Satori before looking at Trunks. "Was I interrupting something?"

_Yes! _Satori thought angrily, but didn't say it. "No. You weren't interrupting anything." She walked out of Trunks room. "I smell food."

"Well mom is cooking breakfast…" Bra followed her, their conversation traveling down the stairs.

When they were gone, Trunks sat on the floor, staring out of the window. _I almost kissed her…I almost kissed Satori…_

**Author: I hope this chapter doesn't suck…I really couldn't think today so this chapter might be random. Anyway, let me know how you like it!**


	10. What are you going to do?

Breakfast in the Briefs' home was always the same when Satori and Pan would spend the night; Vegeta would growl hatefully at them for being descendents of Goku, Bulma would hit him in the head with either a spatula or skillet (whichever one she had in her hand first), the five Saiyans would eat like they haven't heard of food before. Same old, same old. After breakfast, Satori walked outside along with Bra and her sister.

"It's a nice day out here you guys. Why don't we go for a walk or something?" Satori suggested, looking up at the sky.

"Plan on walking in pajamas?" Bra asked, lifting an eyebrow at her friend's appearance.

Satori giggled and turned towards her. "No. You still have most of my shirts in your closet right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I'm going to wear one of them! And I'm stealing a pair of your jeans to go with it." Satori ran into the house, Bra following.

* * *

Bra walked to her brother's room, knocking on the door quietly. "Trunks? Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

Bra opened the door and stepped in. She saw him lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Call it a sibling thing, but she sensed something was bugging him. She walked over to his bed, sitting down beside him.

"Are you okay Trunks?" Bra asked concerned. "You disappeared after breakfast."

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking." Trunks looked over at her.

"Thinking about what?"

"Stuff."

"Does this 'stuff' you're thinking about have anything to do with what I saw before breakfast?" Bra questioned.

Trunks blushed and didn't answer. Bra smiled and patted his head. "Don't worry Trunks. I won't say anything about it…and I know Satori won't either."

She got up to leave and Trunks grabbed her wrist. "Hey Bra…"

"Nani?"

"Arigato." He smiled at her.

She smiled back. "No problem." she thought about something for a moment. "We're going out for a walk. Wanna come?"

Trunks shook his head. "No thanks."

Bra nodded and walked out.

* * *

Satori was back outside, Pan right beside her. The shirt she got from Bra's closet was a white tank with a red heart in the middle. Opting for a skirt rather than jeans, the red mini Satori wore was a little bold…well for her anyway. Bra walked outside and she gasped at Satori's appearance.

"Satori! You look sooo cute!!!" Bra said, hugging her friend tightly.

"Bra! Can't breathe!" Satori choked out.

"Sorry." She let her go. "Well, come on. Let's go."

The girls began their walk. Satori looked up at the sky, then at her friend and sister. They weren't paying attention so she took to the sky, enjoying the feeling of flying more than anything else.

"Satori! Wait up!" Bra and Pan joined her.

Satori giggled. "Try and catch me!" she flew off quickly.

"SATORI!!!"

Satori laughed as they chased her. Both girls caught her, and they went tumbling down to the ground of a grassy hill. They laughed when they landed.

"That was fun." Pan sat up.

"Yup." Bra and Satori agreed.

"Hey Pan…could you go away for a minute? I have to ask Satori something." Bra stated finally.

"Nani? Why can't you ask it in front of me?" Pan inquired, lifting an eyebrow.

"Because…I don't think she'll want you to hear this…not yet anyway."

"….Fine." Pan stood and walked down the hill.

Satori looked at Bra confused. "What do you want to ask me?"

"I saw what was about to happen this morning Satori, with you and Trunks. If I hadn't walked in, I know you two would've kissed."

Satori blushed and looked down. Bra patted her back, continuing. "I just want to know how you're going to handle this."

"I…I don't know Bra. I don't want it to seem like I didn't him to kiss me…" she sighed. "I won't act different, that's for sure. If I avoid him, he's going to think that I don't want to hang around him anymore incase that were to happen again. And I don't want to demand his kiss either…I don't know what I'm going to do."

Bra hugged her. "You'll figure it out. Promise."

"I hope so…"

**Author: Well, that's it for this chapter and once again, sorry if it sucks. Just to let you know, next chapter will be a time skip to the first day back at their jobs after that "almost kissed" incident. I'll post more soon!**


	11. Her Eyes

"Mr. Briefs, you have a visitor." One of the secretary's in front of his office buzzed in.

"Send them in." Trunks replied in a bored tone.

Satori walked in, holding papers in her arms. Trunks looked up at her, smiling a little. "Morning Ms. Son."

"Morning Mr. Briefs." Satori said, not returning his smile. "You have to read and sign these papers by lunch time." She turned to leave out.

"Satori, wait…"

Satori stopped in her tracks, eyes focused on the door. Trunks got up and walked over to her, placing a hand on her arm. "You okay?"

"I'm fine Trunks…" she moved her arm away and walked out.

* * *

Satori walked back to her desk, only to put her head in her hands. She didn't want to seem so cold towards him but…she didn't want to around him at the moment. He sounded so concerned about her, but she just brushed his concern aside like it didn't mean anything. _Why am I being so stupid? So what if we almost kissed…that doesn't give me any right to be so mean…does it?_ She thought to herself.

"Ms. Son, this is from Mr. Briefs." A dark haired intern dropped a note on her desk before walking away.

Satori peeked at the note, before taking it into her hands to read it.

_Satori,_

_What's wrong? There seems to be something upsetting you. If you want to talk, you know I'll listen; that's what friends do._

_Trunks_

Satori placed the note down, sighing. He was right. She got up and walked back to his office, entering. He was filing some papers when she walked in. She sat down in the chair in front of his desk and he walked over beside her, sitting on the arm of it.

"What's up Satori? You seem down about something." He said as he hugged her.

Satori looked down. "I know and I'm sorry…I've just had a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Mind telling me?"

"Well…" Satori looked at him. "I've been thinking about what happened…when Bra and I came to wake you up…"

Trunks sighed and got up. He had been thinking about the same thing. "Satori…"

"Let me finish." He nodded, wanting her to continue. "And…I know if Bra hadn't walked in when she did, something would've happened." She looked up at Trunks. "But that's in the past now…"

Trunks nodded again. _She's handling this well_. He thought to himself. _Maybe too well._ He looked into her eyes again. She looked so confused right then; he fought against the urge to just pick her up and hug her to death…that would only add to the problem. Instead, he walked around his desk and sat in the chair. Her hands were resting on his desk so he took them in his own.

Satori looked down quickly when he grabbed her hands. _Gosh, I want to hate him sooo much right now..._ she thought to herself. _But I can't…he hasn't done anything wrong._

"Satori…look up."

She looked up as he directed only to find that her eyes locked with his own. They were staring at her so intensely that she just wanted to look away again…but she couldn't. She was trapped and she knew he knew that. He smiled reassuringly at her, but his eyes didn't lose their intensity.

"Cheer up Satori. I hate seeing you like this." He released her hands reluctantly.

Satori managed a small smile, even if it was forced. "Okay. I'll cheer up if it'll make you happy Trunks."

"It would."

Satori nodded and stood. "Hey Satori…" she turned and looked at Trunks.

"Yes?"

"Want to go to lunch with me?" he asked.

Satori smiled again, this one genuine. "I'd love to."

Trunks nodded and smiled back, watching as Satori left the office. It was after she left that he began thinking about her appearance. She looked so different today. As always, she dressed comfortably but still looked as though she were going on a date right after work. She had chosen to wear a red off the shoulder sweater and black pin-striped pants. And as always, she wore heels to compensate for her height, since she was short and all.

Trunks had also noticed at the locket she wore around her neck; he had given it to her for her fifteenth birthday and was surprised that she still had it. Even as he thought about her appearance that day, he couldn't pinpoint what looked different about her. It wasn't the fact that her hair was down; she wore it like that most of the time. _What's so different about Satori today?_ He thought about it more until it hurt his brain.

_Is it her make-up? No, she doesn't wear that often…hmm…it can't be her mood…she looked a little better before she walked out of here. So what is it?_ Trunks growled lowly, becoming frustrated. He blinked, realizing what it was. _Her eyes…they looked different today than they usually do._ He chuckled. _Funny…what is it about her eyes that keep coming into my head?_

'_It could be the fact that you can read her emotions clearly just by looking into them'_ a voice in his head said.

_That's not it…or is it? Satori's always been easy to read…most of the time. _

'_Or…it could be the way you look at her now. You don't view her as a friend anymore…she means more than that to you now.'_

Trunks sighed, ignoring the voice. But it did have a point. Trunks sighed once more before going back to work.

**Author: Whoo! That was fun to write…anyway, hope you liked this chapter! More coming soon!**


	12. Lunch

Satori had been working hard ever since she left Trunks' office the second time. She felt a lot better after talking with him and was actually looking forward to eating lunch with him. _It's been a while since we've actually done that._ She thought to herself, typing up a couple of letters. She hadn't noticed how fast the time went by until she felt a hand on top of hers. She looked up over her shoulder to see Trunks smiling down at her.

"Ready for lunch Ms. Son?" He asked.

Satori nodded and locked her computer before standing. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He smiled at her again.

Satori smiled also, linking her arm with his own. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Julie looking at them, shock on her face. She watched as they walked into the elevator together, eyes hatefully on Satori.

Satori giggled. "You know Julie was staring at us when we left."

Trunks lifted an eyebrow. "I didn't notice."

"Maybe because all your attention was focused on meeee." She teased, laughing.

Trunks blushed; she didn't know how right she was. He was happy to see that her fun-nature was back. He hated seeing her upset like she was earlier; it made him slightly upset. As he watched her now, he could see that she was happy and he liked that. Once on the bottom floor of the building, they walked out of the elevator and out the building.

"Trunks! Where are we going?" Satori whined.

"You'll see." He told her again, grabbing her hand.

The action made both blush, each for a different reason. Satori remained quiet as Trunks led her to where they would be eating lunch…well she was quiet until they got there.

"Trunks!" She jumped on him, hugging him tightly. "We're eating lunch here?"

He smiled. "Yup."

They were eating lunch at a very prestigious restaurant, one Satori had mentioned to him before. He knew she wanted to come here, so…he arranged for them to have lunch there. Satori was still hugging him so he hugged back, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly.

"Trunks, you're the best!" she said happily, still hugging him tightly to her.

He pushed her away slightly. "I know…think of this as a present to you."

Satori's smile made her face light up beautifully. Trunks gasped quietly. _Damn you and your hormones._ He led her inside and they were soon seated at a table. The waiter told them he would return momentarily.

"This place is beautiful Trunks…" Satori said as her eyes scanned the place slowly.

"Not as beautiful as you." Trunks meant it to only be a thought; he hit himself discreetly when he realized he said it out loud. _Please don't let her have heard…_

"You say something?" Satori blinked, looking at him. She hadn't heard.

_Thank Kami!_ "No, I didn't say anything." He replied.

"Oh…okay!" Satori smiled.

Soon the waiter came and they placed their orders. When he went away again, Satori took one of Trunks' hands in hers.

"Thank you for bringing me here Mr. Briefs." She said.

"No problem." He smiled at her.

They fell silent. Satori still held his hand, her eyes softly going to meet his. When they locked eyes, she suddenly released his hand and looked away. Before he could speak, their food was now being placed on the table.

"Enjoy." The waiter said before leaving once more.

"Satori…what's wrong?" Trunks asked.

"Nothing." She replied, before eating.

_Nothing my ass._ Trunks thought to himself. _Something's wrong with her…_ he soon found out.

"Satori, darling! How are you?" A male around Satori's age asked as he walked over.

"I'm fine Brandon." She said softly, keeping her eyes down. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to visit. I see you're here with the President of Capsule Corp." He looked over at Trunks before whispering to Satori. "Now you've moved up to bigger men."

Satori's eyes shot up and the fork she had been holding fell from her hands. Brandon smirked and continued to whisper to her.

"I guess being with a guy like me wasn't good enough huh? You had to be with the President of a major company. But I guess that's just how whores are…"

Brandon didn't know but Trunks heard everything he was saying. Satori looked at Trunks when she felt a rise in his anger. She turned to Brandon quickly.

"Leave…now!"

"Why? Can't handle the fact that I'm right?"

"You're not right at all!" Satori shook her head. She glanced over at Trunks before looking back at Brandon. "If you value your life, you'd leave."

Brandon smirked and bowed. "As you wish Madam Satori." He left.

"Trunks, relax. Don't get worked up over him." Satori turned to Trunks after Brandon left, grabbing his hand again.

Trunks took deep breaths until he relaxed some. "Who was that?"

"My ex-boyfriend; he's still angry at me because we had a bad break-up. But don't worry about him okay?" Satori pleaded.

Trunks nodded and Satori squeezed his hand gently before releasing it. They ate in silence. Even though he told her he wouldn't worry about Brandon, it was only to do calm her.

_That guy had no right to call her a whore…it doesn't matter if they had a bad break up or not._Trunks thought, seething inside. _Next time I see him…he's dead._

"Trunks?" Her voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Yes?" He looked up to see her sad, dark eyes.

"You don't believe what he said…do you?"

"Of course not Satori!" Trunks was shocked that she would ask him a question like that. "Why would I?"

Satori shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know…"

Trunks studied her for a moment. She looked so sad right then. "Satori…I didn't believe him. How could I? I know you too well to think that or believe something like that about you."

Satori only nodded. Trunks didn't think she believed him so he called her by one name she hadn't been called in a while.

"Hotaru."

Satori looked up at the calling of her nickname.

"Do you believe me?"

She nodded and they went back to eating.

_Hotaru- Firefly_

**Author: This is a random chapter (it also happens to be the longest one I've written so far). But this one was kinda fun to write too! Hope ya like it! **


	13. Tell me about your breakup

After eating and paying, Satori and Trunks left the restaurant. There was a silence among them, but they didn't mind. Satori had her arm linked with Trunks and she was leaning against him, her eyes closed. She cheered up only a bit after Brandon left, but Trunks could see that he had gotten to her. They made it back to Capsule Corp, and stepped onto the elevator, heading towards their offices/desks.

"You okay Satori?" Trunks asked, looking down at her.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him slightly. It was a friendly embrace; at least, that's what they'd called it. Stepping off the elevator, Satori just wanted to get back to work, but Trunks had other plans in mind. Taking her hand, he led her back to his office and sat her down in the chair in front of his desk.

"Why am I in here?" she asked him, a curious look on her face.

"Because…" Trunks looked at her. "I want to know about your break-up."

"Why? It's irrelevant."

"I just want to know Satori."

She sighed, looking down. "Fine…I'll tell you. Well, we started dating the summer last year and broke it off before Christmas. He used to work at this place that paid good money. As the relationship continued, he thought I was only with him for the money and began going out late out night, only to come back home in the wee hours of the morning." She looked up at Trunks. "And before you ask, we used to live together. Anyway, I was trying to prove to him that he meant more to me than the money; that I was with him for him." Her voice became soft. "He…used that to take advantage of me. He tried to use me for his pleasure and I wasn't ready; so…he would say that I _was_ only with him for money."

Trunks noticed that this was upsetting her. _Damn…why did I ask about it?_ "You don't have to finish…"

"I want to get this out. On the night before we broke up, I came home from visiting with mom and dad only to find the house dark. I heard noise coming from upstairs, and I thought that he was hurt, so I ran upstairs and threw open the door." Her voice caught in her throat. "H-he was with another girl, doing things with her that I wouldn't do. I lost it Trunks. I got so angry that transformed and I tore up the room and house…and I took my anger out on the poor girl…she had to taken to the hospital because of the beating I inflicted on her. Brandon walked up to me and he said this: 'I found another girl who would do the things _you_ wouldn't. And for the record, you were nothing more than a worthless bitch that I needed to occupy my time.' He walked out then and I broke down. I guess my Grandpa Goku felt my power level from his home because he was the one that came to me after Brandon left and took me to mom and dad. Daddy was furious and it took everything mom had to keep him home."

Satori took a breath as tears welled up in her eyes. "Dad wanted Brandon to pay...but I didn't want that. He'd done enough. I heard him and Grandpa Goku talking before Pan brought me upstairs to our room; they were saying that Brandon had crossed the line. They were so mad...I hated seeing them so angry..."

Trunks stared at her in disbelief. He watched as tears dropped onto her pants leg and that triggered something in him. He pulled her up and hugged her tightly to him, making her cry more. He rubbed her hair, hugging her tighter.

"I'm sooo sorry Satori…I shouldn't have asked about it…I'm sorry…" He apologized over and over again.

Satori shook her head. "N-no…it's okay…I needed to tell someone…"

Trunks hated seeing her cry; it tore at his heart. He rocked her gently as her tears continued and even as they died down. He tilted Satori's head up slightly and wiped her tears away with his thumb. Satori caught his wrist, staring boldly into his eyes.

"Trunks…"

Her eyes said all that needed to be said; she wanted him at that moment. Trunks was so tempted to pulled her closer and kiss her breathless, but he couldn't do that to her…not at that moment. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her cheek in a friendly, but caring way. Satori released his wrist and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close.

"Thank you Trunks…" she whispered.

"Anything for you Satori." He hugged her back

They stayed like that for a good while. Finally, Trunks pushed her away a little. "You okay?"

She nodded and looked at the clock in his office. "I should get back to work."

"Take the rest of the day off."

"Nani?"

"You've finished everything here for today. Go home and rest…you deserve it."

"But…"

Trunks silenced her by putting a hand over her mouth. "No objecting. Go home and rest Hotaru."

She searched his eyes silently before sighing and moving his hand off of her mouth. "Okay…"

**Author: huge grin Aren't they close? Anyway, let me know how you liked this chappie!! **


	14. Complaints, Sleep, and Dinner

It had been an hour since Satori went home and Trunks was bored. He thought work was boring with her there, but now it was unbearable to stay there. Unlike her, he still had work to do. He was beginning to regret telling her to take the rest of the day off; but he knew she needed it. He sighed as he stared at the paperwork on his desk in a daze. Someone walking into his office broke him out of his bored daze.

"Hello Mr. Briefs." Julie smiled.

_Great…the girl Satori can't stand chooses to come in now._ "Hi Julie. May I help you?"

"Well." She walked over to him, placing a slip of paper on his desk. "I just wanted to give you this."

Trunks read the slip, and then looked up at Julie, lifting an eyebrow. "This is a complaint slip."

She nodded. "I had a complaint about a certain employee of yours. She's threatened me."

"Who?"

"Ms. Satori Son."

Trunks blinked and gave her a blank look. "Satori threatened you?"

"Uh huh!" Julie nodded again.

_I bet she did…_ Trunks just sighed. "I'll take of it. Thank you for telling me Julie."

"No problem Mr. Briefs." Julie bowed slightly and walked out, her walk one that would end up to her dislocating something if she kept it up.

When she was gone, Trunks tore up the complaint and threw it in the trash. He wouldn't bother with it; Satori wouldn't threaten people…she made promises, not threats.

* * *

Satori sighed as she walked in the house. It was only Mei and Videl in the house at that time; Gohan was out somewhere with her Uncle Goten and her Grandpa Goku, and Pan was at the dojo with their Grandpa Hercule. Mei looked up and ran over to Satori, hugging her legs.

"Satori!"

"Hey Mei." Satori smiled softly and rubbed her cousin's hair. "How are you?"

"I'm okay!" Mei looked up at Satori, tilting her head. "What's wrong? You sound sad."

Satori shook her head. "I'm fine Mei. I'm just tired, that's all."

Videl looked at her daughter in concern as she walked over to where her mother sat on the couch. Satori rested her head in her mother's lap, a sign that she was upset about something. Videl looked at Mei.

"Mei, it's close to nap time."

"Aw, really? But I wanted to talk to Satori!" Mei whined.

Satori smiled softly at her cousin. "If you go get in bed, I'll lend you Mr. Happy-Ears." She said, referring to an old stuff rabbit of hers that Mei loved.

"Okay!" Mei ran up the stairs.

When she was gone, Videl looked down at Satori. "What's wrong Satori? You do seem sad."

Satori closed her eyes, before opening them slightly. "It's just a lot of stuff is somehow getting me down mommy." She shrugged slightly. "And…my feelings for someone are confusing me to no end…"

Videl rubbed her hair. She knew of Satori's feelings for the purple haired half-Saiyan; she could read it clearly on her face whenever they were around one another. She just didn't understand why her older daughter by one minute was so sad.

"Did something happen today?"

Satori nodded. "Well, Trunks and I were at lunch at that restaurant I always wanted to go to, and Brandon was there. He said some things to me that Trunks heard and it made him mad." She closed her eyes. "And I told him about me and Brandon's break-up…"

"What did he say?"

"About what?"

"The break-up."

"Nothing. He just hugged me and told me to take the rest of the day off." Satori looked up at her mom.

Videl only nodded. She patted Satori's head, staring at the eyes she shared with the rest of the Son family. "Well, since you're home early, why don't you go take a nap? You look tired Satori."

Satori sat up, getting up. "Thank you mommy."

"No problem Satori. You go rest."

Satori nodded and walked up the stairs to her room. Before going inside, she went into the guest room where Mei slept, placing the stuffed rabbit under her arm. She placed a soft kiss on her little cousin's cheek before going to her own room. After changing into comfortable clothes, Satori collapsed on her bed, falling straight to sleep.

* * *

"Videl, we're home!" Gohan called, an hour later as he walked into the house.

"Hi honey." Videl walked over to him, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Hey Videl!" Goten walked in, a big smile on his face.

"Hey Goten. It's been a while." She hugged her brother-in-law.

"Sorry about that. I haven't had time to stop by." Goten apologized, scratching the back of his head.

"You have nothing but time." Gohan commented to his little brother, removing the glasses that had been on his face.

"Anyway." Goten dismissed his brother's comment. "Where are my nieces?"

"Pan's probably on her way home and Satori is upstairs in her room sleeping. But she might be up right now." Videl said.

Goten nodded and headed up the stairs. Gohan looked at Videl. "Satori's home this early?"

She nodded. "She came home an hour ago; Trunks gave her the rest of the day off."

"He did huh? Wonder why." Goten said as he removed the jacket he been wearing.

Videl shrugged and went into the kitchen, preparing to make dinner.

* * *

"Oh Satori…" Goten called stepping into her room. He looked to see his niece sleeping rather fretfully.

He walked over to her bed and sat down beside her, tapping her shoulder. She didn't wake, so he went to shaking her. Her dark eyes opened after a moment.

"Uncle Goten?" her voice was sleepy.

He smiled matched that of his father's. "Hey Satori."

"What are you doing here?" she asked, sitting up. "And why'd you wake me up?"

"I came with Gohan. And I woke you up because I haven't seen you in forever!" he hugged her tightly. "You're gotten taller."

"No I haven't. You just got shorter." She teased, smiling sheepishly.

He gave her a look, earning a small giggle from her. He stood, pulling her out of bed. "Come on. You're coming downstairs with me." He placed her on his back and left her room, heading down the stairs.

Gohan looked up from reading the paper to see Goten and Satori coming down the steps. "Hi Satori."

"Hey daddy." She jumped off her uncle's back and ran up to her father, hugging him as he stood.

"I heard you were upstairs sleeping. Sleep well?" He asked.

She nodded and released him. "Is Pan back?"

"I'm here!" She answered her question, stepping inside. "Miss me?"

Satori nearly tackled her sister, jumping onto her. "Panny!"

"Get off Satori!" Pan protested.

"I don't wanna." She whined.

Goten laughed. "And to think, you two really didn't show this much affection growing up."

Both girls smiled brightly before proceeding to hug the breath from each other. Videl shook her head at their behavior.

"Hey mom, can we have a dinner guest besides Uncle Goten?" Pan asked.

"Who?"

She looked at Satori then back at her mom. Videl smiled, getting the hint. "Yes. If he wants to eat dinner with us he can."

"Go call him Satori."

"I will…later."

"Who are you talking about?" Goten asked confused.

"Truuunks!" Pan replied, smiling.

"You don't have to call him! I'll just go get him for you!" Goten headed out the door.

"Wait Uncle Goten!" Satori ran out the house after him, but he was already in the sky, heading towards Trunks' house. _Great…just great…I get to see him again…_

**Author: Because I have time on my hands, this'll be the first post I make tonight. The second one will come in just a moment.**


	15. Kiss

It had been twenty minutes since Goten left, so the twins took this time to freshen up for dinner. Both showered and dressed in comfortable clothes. Satori lay on her bed as she watched Pan put on the orange bandana that had become her trademark as a teen.

"How was training with Grandpa Hercule?" Satori asked.

"Boring! No one wanted to fight me!" Pan complained, huffing. She turned to Satori, hands on hips. "I can't help it if I'm stronger than most humans."

Satori only chuckled and laid her head on her arms. Pan came over and sat down beside her, laying her head on her sister's back. They stayed silent for a moment.

"Hey Pan…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that something can happen between me and Trunks?" she asked softly.

"Of course I do! I mean, you two are like, the perfect couple! And I'm not saying that just because you're my twin…I mean it."

Satori looked over her shoulder at her sister. "But according to Bra, he only likes bimbos…and I'm not a bimbo."

"You listen to Bra? Come on, Satori! As much stuff she and Uub have been through together…"

Satori giggled. They had more make-up and break-ups that Satori knew a couple to have. She was thinking about this when she heard her father's voice from downstairs.

"Twins! Dinner is ready!"

"Coming!" They chorused together, getting out of bed, and running down the stairs.

Goten was back with his childhood friend. They were both talking with Videl when the twins came down.

"Hey Trunks!" Pan smiled.

"Hey Pan." He looked over at Satori. "Hey Satori…"

She smiled softly. "Hey Trunks…"

"Feeling better?"

She nodded, her smile growing a little.

"That's good."

Gohan looked back and forth between the two, deciding he would find out later. Mei downstairs and was bouncing in her chair. Soon everyone sat at the table, ready to eat. Pan had strategically placed Satori right between Trunks and herself, making it so she _had_ to stay where she was.

"Videl, this looks good!" Goten said.

"And I bet it tastes good too." Pan added.

Videl blushed, smiling. "Well dig in you guys."

Videl cooked a lot of food to compensate for the Saiyan appetite; and it was a good thing she did, because they ate a lot! Mei stared at them with wide eyes as the four Saiyans ate quickly, eating more than a normal person would. Videl ignored it, seeing as though her family consisted of three Saiyans. Soon, dinner was over, the food completely gone. Goten patted his stomach.

"I was right this time Gohan! It tasted as good as it looked!"

Gohan chuckled and kissed Videl's cheek. "Dinner was delicious honey."

"Look, they're all sappy now." Pan nudged Satori, who laughed at her parents blushing faces.

* * *

As usual, the family parted for dinner. Gohan and Videl cleaned up, Goten went to play with Mei, Pan went to go play on the computer and Satori and Trunks went outside. It was a little chilly so Trunks draped his jacket over Satori's shoulders. She looked over at him.

"So you wouldn't get cold." He said, smiling.

She blushed and whispered a 'thank you'. They decided to take a walk through the forest.

"So Trunks…enjoy dinner?" Satori asked.

"Uh huh. Your mom's a good cook."

"It runs in the family." Satori smiled, teasingly.

"I bet it does." He smiled.

Satori giggled as she led him to a clearing they used to play at when they were younger. Satori sat on a big rock and looked at Trunks.

"Remember playing here when we were younger?"

"Yup. Fun times." He smiled as he looked around the clearing. He looked at Satori after a moment. "Anything on your mind?"

"A lot's on my mind."

"Like?"

Satori was talking without really paying attention to what she was saying. "Like Brandon, work, my feelings for you…"

"What?" Trunks was surprised by the last part.

Satori blinked, blushing when she realized what she said. "Nothing…" she looked down.

He approached her. He lifted her chin so that she would look him straight in the eyes. "Satori…you have feelings for me?"

Satori's eyes looked down for a moment before they locked with his. She gave a soft nod before looking away, embarrassed.

Trunks watched her. _Satori…has feelings for me?_

'_It was obvious…you were just being to dumb to see it.'_ The voice in Trunks head said.

_Shut up…it wasn't **that** obvious…was it?_

'_Yeah, it was. I can't believe you didn't figure that out.'_

As he was at war with himself, Satori got up and moved away. She hadn't meant to let him know she had feelings for him…it just…slipped out as she spoke random thoughts. Trunks blinked, seeing her move away from him. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her walking away.

"Satori, where are you going?"

"I'm walking…" her voice was soft. "You weren't supposed to know yet."

He turned her around to face him. Her eyes looked the same as in the office after she told him about her break-up. A hint of sadness was also there and he wanted to take that away.

"It slipped out…" Satori continued. "I'm confused about my feelings Trunks. I don't know what to do about it anymore."

Trunks thought for a moment. "What do you want Satori?"

"Huh?" she blinked, looking up at him. "What do you mean what do I want?"

"What do you want? Do you want to know how I feel?"

"It would be nice to know, but I'm not forcing you to tell me. You don't have-"

He cut her off by very softly pressing his lips against hers. Satori's eyes widened in surprise. She was shocked; so much that it took a while for her to remember that he was kissing her. Trunks took a chance when she had been talking. He didn't want to sort his feelings for her in that short amount of time…but hopefully, some of his feelings would get through to her from his kiss.

When she didn't kiss back, he felt sad and foolish. Right when he was about to pull away and apologize, he felt her arms loop around his neck and her lips returning his kiss. It was his turn to be surprised; but it didn't last for long. His arms moved hesitantly around her waist, pulling her closer, wanting to keep her as close as possible. The kiss only lasted two minutes but it felt like forever before they broke away. A blush crossed both of their faces.

"Sorry Satori…"

Satori let a small smile come to her face. "No need to be sorry." She kissed his cheek. "That was the other thing I wanted…"

He smiled at her and pulled her into another kiss, this one deeper and longer than the first.

* * *

Unknown to them, someone was watching. A soft giggle came from a dark haired girl, Satori's twin. A smile broke onto the face of her Uncle as he watched his friend and niece.

"About time those two finally kissed. They were starting to get on my nerves!" Goten whispered to Pan.

"I agree!" she giggled softly.

**Author: Yay! I finally posted their first kiss together! Hope you liked this chapter!**


	16. What If

The walk back to Satori's house wasn't all that eventful. Trunks held onto her hand gently as they walked and Satori was all smiles and giggles by this point. To keep each other amused, they reminisced on their childhood growing up together.

"Hey Satori, remember when we were all in the World Tournament together?" Trunks asked, looking over at her.

She nodded. "Pan beat Uncle Goten. It was hilarious." She turned to him, eyes amused. "And I beat you too."

"I let you beat me."

"Uh huh, sure you did." Satori rolled her eyes, laughing as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

The lights from Satori's house appeared soon as they made it out of the trees of the forest. Trunks placed Satori back on her feet when they stood in front of her house.

"Wanna stay for a little while longer?" Satori turned to Trunks.

He shook his head. "Sorry, I can't. I gotta go home to finish up some work." He noticed her slight disappointment. "Don't worry, I'll see you tomorrow and we can hang out after work or during lunch."

She smiled and nodded, hugging him. "See you tomorrow Trunks."

He hugged her back and kissed her cheek before moving away from her. "See you." He took to the sky.

Satori waved good-bye to him, stepping into her house when she could no longer see him in the sky. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She nearly jumped out her skin when she noticed that her twin was leaning against the wall beside her.

"Why so jumpy sis?" Pan asked, smirking.

"No reason!" Satori answered.

"Come on. Let's go upstairs and talk for a while." Pan led her sister up the stairs and into their room.

Satori sat on her bed, watching as her sister walked back and forth. Pan looked at Satori, noticing her watching. She stopped right in front of her, hands on her hips.

"We saw…"

"You saw what? And who's 'we'?"

"Uncle Goten and I saw you two kiss." She said, smirking.

"PAN!!! YOU SAW?!" Satori sounded and looked so distressed right then. Pan's laughing didn't help. "THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"

"Gomen Satori!" Pan apologized through her laughter. "But your look was hilarious."

"Ha ha, I don't see a damn thing funny." Satori glared at her sister.

Pan nearly laughed again. She sat beside Satori, pulling her into a tight hug. "Gomen! But it was sooo cute! I told ya you and Trunks were meant to be together!"

"Just because we kissed?" Satori lifted an eyebrow.

Her twin shook her dark head. "Nope! There's another reason…I just can't think of it right now."

Satori rolled her eyes, looking down at her lap. When she looked up again, her eyes were all shiny and stuff. "You think he feels the same for me that I do for him?"

"I wouldn't doubt it! I mean, come on! He wouldn't just kiss you just to make you feel better."

Satori nodded and her eyes widened when she had a sudden thought. _That can't be why…_ she thought to herself, her breathing getting a tad bit quicker. She looked at Pan.

"You don't think he kissed me because he thinks I'm a bimbo…do you?"

"Iie!" Pan sounded shocked.

"But what if he does Pan?! What is he only kissed me because he thinks I'm a bimbo? What if Bra was right about him?" Satori was suddenly sad.

"Satori, will you listen to yourself?! Trunks doesn't think of you that way and you know it!"

Satori didn't reply. She lay on her bed, eyes closed. Pan sighed, getting up. She decided to leave her sister alone for a while. She walked out the room, turning out the light behind her. Satori fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

"Glad to see you home!" Bra said to Trunks when he walked into his home. "How was dinner?"

"It was good." Trunks said, taking off his jacket and hanging it up.

Bra studied her brother. She had just gotten off the phone with Pan and according to her, Satori was sad about something. Being the best friend she was she was going to find out what had her best friend so sad.

"Hey Trunks…can I talk to you?" Bra asked.

"About what?"

"Satori."

"What about Satori? Is she okay?" Trunks was instantly concerned.

"According to Pan, she's sad about something that happened when you two went into the forest together."

Trunks tensed. _How did Pan know? Satori couldn't have told…_ "What is she sad about?"

Bra eyes hardened. "She's afraid the only reason you kissed her is because you think she's a bimbo."

"Nani?!" Trunks' eyes widened. "She thinks…that I think she's a bimbo?"

Bra nodded. "I don't see why you're surprised. Most of the girls you date _are_ all bimbos. Maybe she thinks the same."

Trunks shook his head. "Satori's not a bimbo."

"Tell her that."

Trunks nodded. "I'll tell her."

He went up to his room and sat on his bed. _Why would Satori think that?_ He thought to himself. _She could never be a bimbo…_ he sighed. _I'll call her later on. Knowing her, she might be sleeping right now. She always sleeps when she's sad._


	17. Star Gazing

It was an hour before Satori finally decided to wake up; and that was only due to the fact that her cell was ringing beside her ear. She winced from the loud ringing and answered the phone, placing the receiver on her ear.

"Hello?"

"Did I wake you?" A familiar voice asked.

Satori sighed and sat up. "Hai, but I'll let you slide this time Briefs."

She could tell that Trunks was smiling on the other end and that made her smile. She looked at her watch to see that it was around 10:00. She sighed. _Well, he must want something to call me around this time. _She thought to herself.

"Did you need something Trunks?" She asked.

"Well…Bra told me that she talked to Pan not too long after I left."

"She did?' Satori was shocked.

"Yeah…she said you were sad about the kiss…and what you thought I did it for."

_Damn Bra. Damn Pan. _"Well could you blame Trunks?"

"No…" He paused for a moment. "Satori…"

"Hai?" She replied softly. "What is it?"

"I could never think of you as a bimbo. You never were or could be a bimbo."

Satori gasped lightly. On the other end of the phone, Trunks was patiently waiting for her to respond. He didn't understand how a girl so smart like herself could think she was a bimbo…but she was right. He always dated bimbos for short periods of time; they helped him relax some. He always dumped them after two weeks; the looks and warnings he kept getting from Satori made sure of that.

"So…you kissed me…" her voice broke his thoughts.

"Because I wanted to." He finished.

There was another silence over the line. Then her voice sounded again.

"Hey Trunks…meet me at the park near Capsule Corp."

"At this time of night?" It really didn't matter to him; he'd meet up with her anywhere and anytime she needed him to.

"Hai." She hung up.

* * *

Trunks hung up as well. He was only dressed in black sweatpants and a white muscle shirt, so he put on a jacket and his shoes. He crept out of his room and down the stairs, knowing that everyone else was sleeping soundly…or so he thought.

"Where are you going boy?" the sound of his father's voice stopped him as he began to walk out of the front door.

Trunks turned to see his father standing behind him, arms crossed over his chest. Vegeta, the Prince of the Saiyans, glared darkly at his son, waiting for an answer.

"Out to meet someone."

Vegeta scoffed. "It better not be that kid of Kakarot's kid."

"She has a name." Trunks anger shot up for a moment. "And yes, I'm going to meet Satori."

Vegeta only rolled his eyes. "Do what you want." He turned and walked upstairs, heading towards the room he shared with Bulma.

Trunks sighed and walked out of the house. It didn't take him long to get to the park. He saw Satori sitting on one of the benches, eyes on the cell she held in her hands.

"Hey. Pleasure seeing you here." He sat beside her.

Satori smiled softly, glancing over at him. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem Satori. Did you need something?"

She shook her head, standing. "No…just wanted to see you." She blushed.

He blushed as well, studying her. She was in her night clothes as well, wearing blue fleece pants and a blue tank. The wind blew over him some and he noticed goose bumps on her arms. He stood, placing an arm around her shoulders.

"Cold?"

"No…just chilled."

He kept his arm around her shoulders to warm her up. She looked up at him, locking eyes. She wrapped both her arms around his neck. On instinct, he picked her up bridal style. She closed her tired eyes.

"Want to go for a flight?" Trunks whispered.

She nodded her sleepy head, resting her head on his shoulder. Trunks took to the sky. He flew slowly in the air, his eyes going down to look at her. She was falling asleep; he could tell from her breathing and the peaceful look coming to her face. He didn't know it, but she only wanted to meet up with him, just to be near him. She didn't want to make too much of their kiss, thinking that she was his now, but she didn't want to act like it didn't happen either. So, she just decided to be near him when she really wanted or needed to be.

Her dark eyes opened up and met with his. Satori's eyes looked tired, but they shown with happiness. He shifted her weight so that she was still comfortable in his arms and ran a hand down her cheek.

"What are you so happy about Hotaru?"

She smiled softly and grabbed his hand. "I'm happy about flying around with you."

Trunks smiled as well. They laced hands for only a moment before Satori's hand slipped from his grip. Her arms went back around his neck and she snuggled close to him, closing her eyes again. He flew them to a meadow and landed on one of the grassy hills, sitting down slowly with Satori in his lap. His arms went around her and she opened her eyes again.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"A place I like coming to at night." He answered. "Look up at the sky. What can you see in the sky that you can't in the city?"

Satori looked up, the answer reflecting back into her eyes. "Stars." her eyes went to him. "Why do you come here?"

"To get away from the city and the city lights. It's nice to get away from there and look up at the stars every now and then, you know?"

Satori nodded. She sat up slightly, sitting in his lap. His arms went around her waist and they stared up at the stars. Every now and then, Trunks would glance at her before looking away. She never caught him looking as her eyes were focused on the stars. The wind blew over them, moving away the hair that had been covering part of Satori's neck. A glimmer of a necklace caught Trunks' eyes and he looked, noticing the necklace he had given her.

"You still wear it?"

"Do I still wear what?" Satori asked. "Oh, you mean the necklace. Yeah, I still wear it." She smiled. "It's still my favorite birthday present."

He smiled and kissed her cheek softly. She blushed a faint pink, smiling softly. They stayed like that for a good while, just quietly staring at the steps. Out of habit, Satori began singing softly. Trunks listened for a moment before whispering in her ear.

"Satori…"

"Yeah?"

He took her hand in his, squeezing it gently. She continued to sing softly, waiting intently for him to speak again.

"Be mine…."

She gasped, stopping her singing. She smiled and hugged him. "I would love being yours…" she whispered, giggling as he hugged her back tightly.

**Author: I know it's been some time since I updated so I wrote a little something. Yeah, it's random, but random is good sometimes. Right? Anyway, R&R! Hope you like this chappie!**


	18. New Day

Satori soon fell asleep and Trunks took her home. The window to her room was open so he slipped through it, careful not to wake Satori or a sleeping Pan. As Trunks lay Satori down on her bed, she snuggled deep into the covers. A small smile came to his face and he kissed her cheek softly.

"Sleep well Satori..." he whispered before leaving her house.

As he flew back to his house, his thoughts were on the dark haired beauty. He smiled to himself and flew right into his bedroom. Changing his clothes, he got into bed and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Satori woke up to her annoying alarm clock named Pan the next morning. Her twin was already up, singing loudly as she picked out clothes to wear for that day. Satori sat up and rubbed her eyes, shooting a small ki blast at sister's leg. Pan yelped when it hit.

"Satori! What was that for?!"

"You're singing and it's…" she looked at the clock. "Seven o'clock in the flippin' morning!"

"Sorry." Pan said. _Geez. Someone has an attitude when she first wakes up in the morning. _She thought to herself. "So…where were you last night?"

Satori had been getting out of bed and she froze when Pan asked her that question. "I was um…at the park."

"Why?"

"Because I needed some air, so I left. Why are you asking me all these questions?"

"No reason."

Soon, Satori went off for work after showering and dressing. Pan stayed in their room thinking. _Why is my sis so defensive all of a sudden?_

* * *

The dark haired woman walked into the office of her boss, being as quiet as a church mouse. He was on the phone and his back was to her. When he heard the door close, as soft as it was, he turned to see her. A smile came to his face as he motioned for her to sit in the chair in front of the desk. She did, leaning her arms against the desk as he finished up the conversation he had with the person on the phone. Soon, he hung up and looked at her with those eyes of his.

"Well, good morning Ms. Son."

She giggled. "Good morning Mr. Briefs."

Trunks touched one of her hands lightly, taking it in his. "What are you doing in here?"

"I just wanted to visit you before I got to work. Mind if I ask who you were on the phone with?" Satori lifted an eyebrow.

"Your Uncle Goten."

"What did he want?"

"Nothing important. Just telling me about his new girlfriend."

"Wait." Satori blinked. "My Uncle Goten has a new girlfriend and he didn't tell me? How mean of him…" she trailed an imaginary tear down her cheek.

Trunks chuckled. The door to his office opened again and Julie stepped into the office. Trunks moved his hand from Satori's before Julie could notice and a serious look crossed his face.

"May I help you Julie?" He asked.

Julie nodded and placed a folder of paperwork in front of him. "Your mom needs you to fill this out." She said, glancing at Satori with a distasteful look.

Satori looked at her same. For the day, Julie wore a skirt that stopped just a little below the middle of her thigh and a tight shirt. For a girl her size, she had a big chest and her shirts were always tight enough to show that off. A button at the top of her shirt came undone as she bent over the desk to talk to Trunks.

"You might want to button the top of your shirt." Satori said in a sweet voice.

Julie looked down at her shirt then looked at Satori. The look she had then needed no words and Julie buttoned up her shirt. After she left, Trunks locked eyes with Satori.

"I'm surprised at you. You didn't snap."

"But I wanted to." Satori sighed.

Trunks chuckled and grabbed her hand again. His thumb moved over her hand in slow circles. Satori only lifted an eyebrow, picking up the folder with her other hand. "Want me to fill this out?"

He released her hand and stood, walking around his desk to her chair. "Nope. For once, I'll do it." He smiled.

She smiled back and placed the folder back on the desk. She stood and hugged Trunks tightly. His arms went around her waist as he hugged her back, kissing her cheek.

"Go get some work done okay? And at lunchtime, we'll go get lunch together okay?"

"Okay Trunks. See you later." She moved out of the hug and left, heading towards her desk.

**Author: Hehe, missed me? Lol. So this chapter isn't as good as some of the others, but hey, this took me nearly a week to type (mostly because I was too lazy to type on it) But here's the chapter. R&R!**


	19. Anger

Satori worked vigilantly, her dark eyes focused on the screen of her computer. She typed up something really fast, glancing at it only once. She ran errands that people needed her to do around the office and filled out some papers that Trunks couldn't do at that time. She didn't notice when a certain someone walked up behind her until she felt a sharp object at the base of her throat.

"I don't appreciate that look you gave me in his office."

Satori's eyes narrowed quite dangerously. "You have two seconds to get away, Julie."

She pressed the object hard on her throat making it bleed and in turn, causing Satori to flinch and making her madder. In an instant, the screams of the blonde cut through the air and all heads turned to see why she had been screaming. They gasped when they saw that she was flying through the air, heading straight towards the wall. In a moment, she stopped, having been caught by a dark haired male. The thrower, a highly ticked off Satori, was being held back by her lavender haired boss. She struggled against him, but the tight grip he had around her waist and arms made that difficult.

"Goten, is she okay?" Trunks called to his friend.

"She's fine." He looked down at her. "She just…fainted though."

Trunks nodded. "Follow me." He whispered angrily at Satori, releasing her.

She followed him into his office, eyes still ablaze. She knew she was going to get chewed out and was ready for it. In his office, she stood near the door and he paced around, knocking something off his desk when he went past.

"What was that?" he asked finally.

"She irked me and I lost it." Satori mumbled.

"She irked you? She _irked_ you?! Damn it Satori! You could've really hurt her!"

"I know that Trunks!" Her shouting matched his. "Try telling me something I don't already know."

"Now's not the time for that smart mouth of yours."

"Whatever Trunks." She looked away.

He was on her in a second. He wouldn't put his hands on her; he couldn't nor wouldn't do that to her. But he had her trapped against the wall, dark eyes looking slightly startled at the way his piercing blue eyes bore into hers.

"You have one more time, Satori. Mess up again and you're fired. Now, I'm putting you in anger management classes."

"But Trunks!"

"No buts. I'm letting you off easy. You should appreciate this or otherwise, you'd be out of here right now."

She sighed and looked down. "Fine…I'll take the classes." She didn't look into his eyes, much less touch him. She was too damn angry.

He was taking _her_ side. Okay, so maybe she _had_ overreacted, but Julie touched her first. She hadn't placed a hand on her until she kept pressing the object against her neck and aggravating her. It was that moment that she shut down; she didn't want to talk, much less want to be near him at that point. She moved away from under him and walked out of the door before he could stop her.

"Satori, wait!"

She was already gone. She passed Goten, who knew to leave her alone. When lunchtime came, she left before Trunks could come to her desk. She walked to the park, sitting on one of the benches.

"Damn him…why does he have to believe _her_? She irked me first…" she sighed and looked up at the sky. She wouldn't allow herself to get upset over that.

* * *

Back at the office, Trunks sat at his desk, head in his hands. He knew Satori was mad at him, but he couldn't have her fighting her co-workers, especially not at work. He could sense her ki; she was trying to mask it from him, but he knew her ki like the back of his hand.

_What would possess her to attack Julie?_ He thought to himself._ I mean, I know she doesn't like her, but Satori doesn't usually act like that…what's going on with her?_

A dark haired male came in moments later, shutting the door to Trunks' office behind him. The lavender haired demi-saiyan looked up to meet the dark eyes of his best friend.

"You know Satori's pissed at you right?" Goten asked, plopping down in the seat in front of Trunks' desk.

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. But Goten, you know Satori almost better than I do. Why do you think that she attacked Julie?"

"Don't know. Normally, she would need a reason to attack someone. Maybe this time, she had a reason." His friend shrugged.

"What reason could that be?"

"Heck if I know. I mean, I usually know but with that niece of mine…she's hard to read. Pan's easier to read than her twin."

"You got that right." Trunks leaned back in his chair. "You know she's trying to keep her ki down; that way, I won't be able to find her."

Goten chuckled. "My, she's upset with you." His mood turned serious. "But you should talk to her. You know as well as anyone else that an angry Saiyan is not a good thing; especially when they're a Son."

Trunks rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. I remember when she was younger and got upset with me. I nearly lost my leg…literally!" He sat up in his chair, placing his hands on his desk.

Goten chuckled again. "So what are you going to do? Or better yet, what did you say to her that made her walk out in her mood?"

"Well, I told her that I'm going to have to put her in anger management classes. She has to take them or…"

"Or?"

"Or…"

"Or what?"

"She's…fired."

"Trunks! You _actually_ said if she doesn't take the classes, she'll be _fired?!_"

"Yeah…"

"No wonder she was mad!" Goten rose from his chair, shaking his head. "I'm leaving now. You should too; you _desperately_ need to talk to Satori." He left.

When Goten was gone, Trunks leaned back in his chair again, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked up at the ceiling and began thinking._ Maybe Goten's right; maybe I __**do**__ need to talk to Satori. But will she listen to me?_ He sighed. _Probably not. I'll let her vent for a while; approaching her now could mean a death wish. _With his decision made, he touched his grumbling stomach. But oddly…he didn't want to eat; too much was on his mind.

* * *

Satori returned at the every last minutes of the lunch break. She decided to take the stairs to her floor, stepping onto the carpet of the hallway. As she walked, the carpet turned to tile and it caught the attention of her co-workers. The ones that hadn't seen her actually _throw_ Julie had heard about it from their friends, and they were all giving her looks and mumbling quietly under their breath.

Satori's eyes went to the ground, her sensitive ears picking up on the hushed conversations. _"She threw Julie? How? Is she a freak?"_ and _"I'm scared to approach her now. What if she throws __**me**__ to a wall?"_ The Saiyan female took her seat at her desk, near the point of tears. She shouldn't have let their conversations and stares get to her, but darn it, it wasn't like she threw Julie for the fun of it! Now Trunks was upset with her, her job was on the line, and she had to take stupid anger management classes. Could her day get _any_ worse?

"U-um…Ms. Son?"

"What is it?" Satori said to one of Trunks' many secretaries.

"Mr. Briefs would like to s-see you."

_Great. It just got __**horrible**_She thought to herself as she got up. She didn't want to see him again that day; she would _really_ start crying then. But still, she walked slowly to his office, not bothering to knock as she entered. Trunks had been waiting on her and he could feel the sad and angry vibes coming from her.

"Please sit." He said.

She took her seat in front of his desk, eyes still down. "What do you want with me now Trunks?" she asked quietly.

"Satori, you're mad at me I can tell."

"Gee, how did you ever figure that out?" She snapped.

"And the attitude's coming."

"Damn right it's coming." She looked up. "You and everyone else in this damn place think I threw Julie _on purpose!_ I mean, I know I overreacted on how I how I handled the situation, but it's not like I intentionally grabbed her and threw her just for my enjoyment. I would never touch _anyone_ unless the touch me first. And even then, it takes a lot to piss me off, and she pushed me over the edge." She took a pause, waiting for him to reply. When he motioned for her to continue, she hesitated.

Instead of continuing on with what happened, she decided to stop talking then. Why was she even _talking_ to him in the first place? She was still mad at him and would be for the rest of the day…or maybe until work was over. She stood to leave and his hand was instantly around her wrist.

"Satori, wait."

"Let me go Trunks. I have nothing else to say to you."

"But I have something to say to you, Satori." When she didn't protest, he took that as his opportunity to continue. "I'm sorry okay? I know you're angry at me, but come on. Can you blame me for taking the action I had to take?" He kept talking before she could interrupt. "Satori, you could've really hurt Julie. I know you wouldn't have done it if you hadn't gotten angry but think about it; you're so much stronger than her."

Sad dark eyes met his. He stood, still holding her wrist, and walked around the other side of the desk where she stood. They never broke eye contact as he got closer to her.

"Satori, you're half Saiyan. Julie? She's a human; when you threw her and had she hit the wall, there's a good chance she may not be here right now and you know that."

She looked away finally. From the light in the office he could see that her eyes were shining. "I know that Trunks…"

"So do you understand why—"

"Yes Trunks, I understand." She interrupted. "May I go now Mr. Briefs?" her voice sounded so forlorn, it hurt him to listen to her speaking. "I still have work I need to finish before I go home."

He released her wrist. "You may go now, Ms. Son."

"Thank you." She bowed to him and left.

The thought of both of their minds; _I'm so stupid._


	20. Won't Tell

The day went by slowly. Satori and Trunks only talked when he needed her to do something and they barely talked then. When the end of the day came, the usual horde of fan-girls crowded around his office. This would usually make Satori laugh, but today it didn't help. She pushed past them and walked inside the office, closing the door quickly before any of them could get in. Trunks was preparing to jump out of his window.

"Go. I'll distract them…again." Satori had her back facing him.

He stared at her for a moment before stepping down from the window's ledge. He walked over to her and grabbed her arm, much to her surprise.

"Iie. You're coming with me this time, Hotaru."

With that, he levitated in the air a little and flew out of the window, still holding onto Satori's arm. She allowed herself to finally let him pull her along after two failed attempts to get away from him. Her eyes stayed down to the ground below her, not once looking at the man pulling her along.

"Satori, do you have a capsule with comfortable clothes in it?" Trunks pulled her out of her thoughts.

"…yeah." She said. They were nearing a cloud.

"Good. Pull it out." Trunks let go of her arm as they went into the cloud.

A 'popping' sound was heard and clothes fell from the cloud as the two Saiyans flew away. A laugh actually came from the female, making her male companion smile. She looked so much more relaxed now that she was in comfy black sweatpants and blue tank, her black hair pulled up into a ponytail.

"So is that what you do when you're too lazy to just go home and change?" Satori asked Trunks, smiling.

"Basically." He shrugged. He was happy that she was smiling, but…he knew her too well. She tended to hide her feelings behind her smiles. "Satori, are you still upset with me?"

The question brought a frown to her face and her eyes darted down. They both stopped in mid-air, Trunks watching her intently. If she was still upset, he could understand why; he _had_ been somewhat mean to her.

"No…I'm not upset with you anymore, Trunks. You did what you had to, and I got angry." She looked up, a goofy smile on her face and her hands moving to her hips. "Mom and Dad always _did_ say I have a bad temper."

They both laughed. "Come here." Trunks held his arms out.

She flew into his arms, hugging him tightly as they spiraled down towards the city below them. Trunks held her as they shot back into the air, smiling at her as she laughed in amusement. As they flew over water, a confused look crossed her face.

"Where are we going Trunks?"

"Wild guess." He smirked.

"Master Roshi's?"

He shook his head again. "Guess again."

"Um…" from her position, she could see a few islands. "Are we going to one of the islands?"

"Yes. Why are we going to the islands?"

"Um…" she blinked and a look crossed her face. "Trunks! I don't feel like sparring!"

"Aw, pwease Satori? You don't spar with me anymore!" He gave her puppy dog eyes.

The raven haired girl held an unsure look. She didn't want to admit it, but she hadn't sparred since Christmas of two years ago and that's only because her Grandpa Goku made her. She'll admit, she was a little rusty and he wouldn't get any good training sparring with her.

"Satori?"

"I can't Trunks. I haven't sparred in two years…" she admitted, blushing.

"Oh, come on. It's like riding a bike. You never forget how to spar, Satori."

"Well, _I _did." Her temple twitched.

He decided to leave it alone; he would get her to spar with him another time. "Fine…" he sighed.

Pretty soon, they landed in forest of one of the islands. Trunks sat in a tree, Satori sitting with him. He held her as she rested her head on his shoulder, legs swinging over the side of the limb they sat on. From the way she laid her head on his shoulder, he noticed a cut on her neck. His eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Satori, what happened?"

"What do you mean?" She opened one eye to look up at him.

"This cut on your neck."

Her relaxed body suddenly tensed and she didn't reply. Her hand only went to the cut and she covered it up.

"It's nothing."

"Yes it is…what happened?"

"Don't worry about it." She was so tense now.

When he touched her hand, she flinched as if she had been hit. His concern for her only deepened when she suddenly moved, levitating down to the ground. She then began walking away from him.

"Satori, wait up." He followed her. "Come on, tell me what happened."

"No, Trunks! Will you just drop it?!" She snapped.

_Now I know something's up. _Trunks thought to himself as he caught up to her and grabbed her arm. "No, I won't just drop it. What happened?"

"Nothing happened, damn it!" She snatched her arm away and flew into the sky, flying away from him.

Usually, guys would take the hint and leave her alone, but not that hardheaded demi Saiyan named Trunks Briefs. He took to the sky as well and followed her. She sensed him behind her and she turned in the air, eyes narrowing.

"Why are you following me?"

"Because I wanna know what happened and why you won't tell me."

"One: Nothing happened. Two: Even if something _did_ happen, it's none of your business! Now leave me alone!" she flew away quickly, not taking a second glance back.

* * *

Satori sighed as she walked into her house sometime later, going straight upstairs to her room. Pan was home already, sitting on her bed. She looked up when Satori walked in their room. 

"Hey Hotaru. What's wrong? You look…mad."

"Hi and you better bet your ass I'm mad." She huffed as she sat down beside her sister.

Pan closed the magazine she had been reading and sat up, looking at her twin with curious eyes. "What has you mad?"

"Well, has Uncle Goten been here yet?"

"Iie. Doushite?"

"I wanted to be the one to tell you what happened and not him. Today, I was in Trunks office and Julie came in. We gave each other dirty looks and she began talking to Trunks. Now you know how big in the chest area she is right?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, she leaned forward to talk to Trunks and one of her buttons came undone. I told her in the nicest _possible_ voice I could muster that she should button up her shirt and she looked at me. I gave her a meaningful look and she buttoned it up and left. After I left Trunks office, she came behind me and placed this sharp object to my throat and said she didn't _"appreciate the look I gave her in his office" _and I warned her to get away from me. She pressed the object to my throat more until I bled and I got angry. Out of anger, I grabbed her and threw her to the wall."

"You did what?!"

"Let me finish. Anyway, Goten grabbed her before she hit the wall and Trunks was holding me back from going after her. We then went to his office where he proceeded to find out why I threw her and I told him that she irked me. So that got him mad and he said that he's putting me in anger management classes."

Pan snickered at this but stopped when Satori looked at her. "Gomen. Continue."

"I protested and he said if I don't take the classes, I'm out of a job. I got all upset that he was taking her side and I left his office without another word. Then lunch came around and I went out by myself."

"Were you two supposed to go out to lunch together?"

Satori nodded. "When I came back, everyone saw me and started looking at me somewhat frightened and whispering things behind my back about how they wouldn't want to talk to me in case I threw them. Trunks sent a secretary of his to tell me he wanted to talk to me and I reluctantly went to his office, not really wanting to hear what he had to say. We talked for a while then I left again."

"Long story short…"

"We went to the forest after work and he asked me what happened and I got mad because I didn't want him to know." Satori concluded.

"Wow…you know, you should tell him." Pan said.

"Why? I don't want him to know; he, like everyone else, thinks I need anger management classes and if I don't take them, I'm fired. Sucks huh?"

"Pretty much." Pan hugged her twin tightly. "But it'll get better." She thought for a moment. "Hey, I know what would cheer you up. Mom's almost done cooking. A good home cooked meal will make you happy."

"I hope so." Satori sighed. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"Okay. I'll be downstairs." Pan said, getting up and going downstairs.

* * *

"Is that what really happened?" 

"That's what she told me, Trunks."

Pan was outside. She had been planning to call him right in their room, but Satori could hear _really_ well. She figured Trunks would want to know what happened, knowing that he was probably worried about her twin.

"So don't tell her to tell you."

"I won't. By why would she not tell me, Pan? You know your sister better than I do."

"Because of that Saiyan pride all of us have. Besides, she's kinda upset that you took Julie's side, but I figure she's over that now."

Trunks sighed on the other line. "Thanks for telling me Pan. I gotta go. Let me know if Satori says anything else about what happened, okay?"

"I will. Sayonara."

"Sayonara…"

Pan hung up and looked up at the sunset. _I hope nothing comes between those two…_ she thought, sighing.

**Author: Yeah...it's been a while since I've updated, huh? Anyway this is the next chapter (and the one that took longest to write; mostly because I was being lazy...again) so I hope you enjoy it. R&R if you don't mind...smile**


	21. Secrets & Gifts

During dinner, Satori looked over at her sister. Pan had avoided looking at her since Satori had caught her coming inside the house. When questioned, she didn't take the defensive, but she _did_ tense slightly before answering with a "nothing." Now, Pan's eyes glanced over at her sister from the corner of her eye before looking down at her food again. Satori lifted an eyebrow.

_What's going on with Pan I wonder?_

* * *

"Bra! Trunks! Dinner's ready!" 

Bra was the first down the stairs, her brother following slowly behind her. The info Pan told him about what happened was going through his mind at that point, and it wouldn't go away. He slid into his chair, glowering darkly at his father like usual. Bulma saw this and hit both with her spatula.

"Vegeta, behave or you know what'll happen. Trunks, you behave too or Satori won't be allowed to visit anymore."

Trunks and Vegeta both gulped and nodded. Bra laughed slightly under her breath at the both of them. Soon, the four began eating. The Saiyans of the family ate like normal, having finished off the entire dinner in less than ten minutes.

"That was good mom!" Bra said. "But then again, it's always good."

"Thanks Bra. Glad you enjoyed it."

"I'm excusing myself." Trunks said, getting up.

"No dessert Trunks?" Bulma asked her son, lifting an eyebrow at him.

"Not tonight." He went up to his room.

"I wonder what's wrong with Trunks…usually, he doesn't pass up dessert."

Vegeta had a paper open and he grunted. "Boy's swooning over that kid of Kakarot's."

"He is?" Both females blinked, looking at each other before looking at Vegeta again.

"Wow…didn't know he liked Satori _that_ much." Bra admitted.

"Neither did I." Bulma agreed.

* * *

Trunks lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The image of the quarter Saiyan popped into his head and he sighed. She had been so reluctant to tell him what happened, but not reluctant to tell Pan. Maybe she thought he wouldn't believe her; and he wasn't sure if he would. 

_Trunks, what's going on with you?_

_**You're swooning over her…and you know it.**_

Trunks sighed, hearing the inner voice in his head. _Not you again._

_**What's wrong with me? You can't get rid of me; think of me as your conscience.**_

_My conscience huh? Where were you when I really needed you?_

_**Prior engagement. But I'm here now. And you know you're swooning over Satori. Just admit it to her. **_

_I thought I did that. _

_**Just asking her to be your girlfriend isn't good enough. You know you hurt her feelings.**_

_Yeah I know…_

_**So how do you plan to fix things?**_

_No idea…this is where you come in._

_**Must I think of **__**everything**__**? What's some of her favorite gifts?**_

_Well…she likes cherry blossoms as a gift…or pictures we've taken together…_

_**So give her a picture of you two. One that was special to both of you.**_

_All of them are special…_

_**Grr…you're not helping any! I'm done talking with you for the moment. Figure this out on your own.**_

Trunks sighed. _Well, the voice in my head wasn't helping any. _He thought, still staring at the ceiling. _Only one thing to do…_

* * *

"Hey Bra, can I talk to you?" Trunks asked, standing in the doorway of his sister's room. 

"Sure. Come on in!" She blew on her fingernails, drying the baby pink nail polish she had just put on there. "What is it?"

"I need help; what do you give a girl as a gift?"

"What do you mean?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"Well…Hotaru's mad at me and want to give her a gift so she wouldn't be so mad. What should I get her?"

Bra smirked. "I know what you could give her."

"Bra!" Trunks blushed really red. "Be serious!"

Bra laughed. "Your face was funny!" She took a breath. "Okay, I'm serious now. But what do you want to give her?"

"Don't know. That's why I came in here to ask her _friend_, who's also a girl, on what to get her." Trunks sat on her bed.

"Well, knowing Satori, it'll take more than a gift to make her forgive you. But probably the sweetest gift you can give her is an apology. Add in a loving kiss and she's putty in your hands."

Trunks gave a blank look. "Come on Bra. This is _Satori_ we're talking about."

"Yeah, you're right." Bra thought. "I know! Did you ever give her that Christmas gift you bought like two years ago?"

"The necklace?"

"Yeah!"

"I gave it to her for her birthday."

"Oh…well…I don't know. But if you give her something, make sure you apologize and give her a loving kiss. She'll—"

"Be putty in my hands, right?"

"Hai! See, you're catching on!" Bra giggled.

Trunks sighed and shook his head. "Well, thanks Bra. I'll think of something."

"You're welcome!"

* * *

Satori and Pan had had to wash dishes after dinner was over. Videl, Gohan, and Mei were in the living room watching TV, so the twins had to save their conversation until they got upstairs in the safety of their room. Once upstairs, Satori decided to finally ask Pan the question she had been holding in since dinner. 

"What's up with you Pan? You're avoiding looking at me and that only happens when you've done something."

"Nothing's up with me."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying!"

Satori only sighed and shook her head. "Whatever." She wasn't in the mood to argue with her. "All I'm going to say is, I know you're hiding something from me." She went into the bathroom to shower before bed.

Pan sat on the floor. _If only you knew twin. _

**Author: -- yeah, this chapter pretty much sucks, so if you flame, I'll understand. Anyway, R&R please!**


	22. Mystery and Star

Throughout the night, Trunks rolled around in his bed. He couldn't sleep. The demi-saiyan sighed deeply, sitting up. _Why can't I sleep? _He wondered to himself, staring into space. It was unusually hot in the room, and normally, he could deal with it; tonight was different. Sighing again, he climbed out of his bed and quietly left his room, creeping down the stairs. Not seeing any of his family up, he left the house, taking to the sky. _Maybe flying will take my mind off things. _He thought, flying slowly over the city. Even at night, the city looked bright as ever.

The lavender haired Saiyan finally landed in a nearby forest, sitting in a tree. He looked into the window of one house to see that the lights were off and he saw the dark silhouette of someone. From where he sat, he couldn't tell if it was Pan or Satori, but he soon found out. The person looked over her shoulder for a moment and jumped out of her window, landing softly on the ground. He caught sight of a necklace around the person's neck and instantly knew that the person was Satori. He jumped from the tree and walked over to her quietly.

Satori tensed when she felt someone near. She was sneaking out –again, I may add- and she was afraid she might have been caught by a member of her family. She was on her guard as usual, but didn't see anyone. _Someone's out here…_ she thought to herself, scanning the area. She nearly gave a scream when someone placed their hand over her mouth and pulled her near.

"Shh…it's me, Hotaru. Relax."

Satori gave a sigh of relief. _It's only him…wait, what's __**he**__ doing here?! _When he moved his hand, she spun around to face him.

"What are you _doing_ here?!" she asked in a harsh whisper.

"Just flying around and decided to stop by." He lifted an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm sneaking out."

Trunks blinked. "Hotaru, you're nineteen. Can't you just leave the house like a normal adult?"

"No. With a dad like mine, you can't just _go out_ whenever you please!"

Trunks blinked again. Satori sighed, seeing how confused he was. She tensed up when she heard a noise from in her room. She pulled Trunks over closer to her house and ducked under the window, pulling him down with her.

"Shh!" she put a hand over his mouth right when he was about to say something.

Whoever was moving around the room, suddenly stopped and the two held their breath, not moving. Finally, the person finally climbed back into bed and Satori moved her hand, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Whoo…it was only Pan." She stood up. "Well, since you're here, you might as well come with me."

"Uh…okay. Where are we going?"

"To a friend's house." She told him, taking to the air.

He blinked and followed her, flying beside her. "Do I know this friend?"

"You should. I mean, she hangs around me, Panny, and Bra all the time."

He lifted an eyebrow and watched as she sighed. They didn't say anything more as they continued to fly. Trunks looked down to notice they were going over water.

"Satori."

"What?"

"Where are we going?"

She sighed. "Kami House to see Marron."

He stopped suddenly. "M-Marron?"

"Hai. Doushite? What's wrong with Marron?" She stopped, turning around to face him. She blinked when she was that he was slightly tense.

"Nothing…never mind. Come on, let's keep going." He went back to flying.

_Huh…wonder why he tensed up like that…oh well, I guess I'll found out soon enough._ The dark haired Saiyan thought. When they finally made it to Kami House, a blonde haired female looked up and gasped.

"Hey Marron. What's wrong?" Satori asked as she landed and walked over to her.

Marron hadn't been listening. Her eyes were on Trunks the whole time and Satori blinked, sitting beside her friend. She traced where Marron's gaze was locked and looked over at Trunks, blinking again.

"Um…am I missing something here? Why are you two staring at each other like that?"

"No reason." They both answered too quickly.

Satori crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at them, not believing them. To break the big silence between the three of them, Trunks yawned and looked at Satori who was still giving him a cross-examining look.

"So um…why are we here?"

"Oh yeah! Here Marron. I had to sneak if from the closet." She tossed the blonde a bag.

It was then that Trunks finally realized what his companion had been wearing. A black, form fitting halter covered her torso and she wore black pinstripe pants. As Marron pulled out the clothes Satori brought her, he noticed that she wasn't wearing the necklace he had given her.

_That's strange…Satori usually wears it all the time._ He thought as he frowned slightly. Marron crept into the house to change, leaving them both alone. Satori felt eyes on her and she looked over at Trunks.

"Is something wrong?" She asked softly.

"You're not wearing it…" he said plainly.

She knew what he was talking about; he could tell because she instantly blushed and her eyes went down. She looked at him after a moment.

"That's right…I'm not wearing it."

"Why not?"

"Because um…where we're going…I didn't think I should wear it."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough. As soon as Mar-"

"I'm here now. Come on, let's go." Marron interrupted as she walked over to him, carrying a pair of black strappy heels in her hands. "Wait…is Trunks coming too?"

"Hai." Satori nodded.

"Well, he's not exactly…_dressed_ for it, Satori." Marron lifted an eyebrow, her left hand twisting a lock of her hair.

"It doesn't matter. You know for where we're going the only people that need to worry about appearances are you and I."

"True. But still…"

"No buts. Come on, let's go. I'm ready to get this over with." The Saiyan sighed and took to the sky again, not bothering to wait for them.

"Hey, wait up!" Marron followed behind her.

Trunks brought up the rear, his mind on the conversation he just overheard. I mean, it wasn't like they were whispering; he could've probably heard them anyway since they were so close. His blue eyes went over to Satori and he frowned. _What were those two talking about?_ He thought to himself. He soon found out. The trio landed in front of a worn down warehouse.

"We're here." Marron said, tensing.

"Come on." Satori walked to the front door and knocked.

Someone open a slit in the door, only their eyes visible. "What do ya want?"

She whispered something and the person opened the door, allowing the three to enter. Smoke controlled most of the air and rough looking males were everywhere, playing cards or drinking. Marron clung somewhat tightly onto Satori's arm, looking around.

"Why are we here again?"

"To handle business."

"What business?" Trunks asked.

Satori looked at him, brown eyes slightly down. "Don't worry about it."

His face went serious and she looked away. She led them to the back of the warehouse, stopping when two buff guys looked at the trio.

"Who are you?"

"Mystery." She gave a name in a quiet, but tough voice.

"And these two?"

"The blonde is Star and the male is Dark."

The two men nodded and opened a door to an even darker and smoke filled room. The three walked in. A male smoking a cigar sat in the middle of the room on a couch. Two females sat beside him, his arms around both of them. He smirked and took the cigar from his mouth when he saw Marron and Satori.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my girls? What brings you here?"

"Can it Duke. You know why we're here." Satori said sternly.

Duke smirked more. "Come now, Mystery. Must you be so mean to me?"

"Where's the stash?"

He pointed to where the "stash" was located. Satori went in that direction and picked up a black briefcase, tossing it to Marron. Her eyes then connected with the beady eyes of Duke's as she walked over to him.

"Did you do what I told you?"

"Not yet."

Before she could stop him, Duke grabbed her by the neck. She coughed when he stood, pulling her closer to him. He blew smoke in her face making her cough again.

"Mystery, Mystery, Mystery. I need you to do my job, honey."

"Just like I need you to let me go." She growled, hand on his wrist. "I can break your wrist you know. It'll be like breaking a toothpick."

"Feisty. I love that in you, Mystery." He released her. "Now get out of my site."

Marron grabbed onto her arm, pulling her out. As they walked out of the warehouse, Trunks twitched. He had wanted to go at the guy for grabbing Satori like he did, but couldn't. Marron had sensed his anger right on time and stopped him before he could do anything. Once in the night air, Marron let go of Satori's arm.

"Satori, what were you thinking? You can't do that to him! Remember what he said?!"

"Yeah, I remember Marron. Come on." She replied as she began to levitate up.

"Wait Satori." Trunks' voice stopped her before she could go more than two feet from the ground.

Satori turned and looked at him, lifting an eyebrow. Trunks stared at her with intense eyes. "Marron…you can fly on ahead. Me and Satori need to talk." He told the blonde, never once breaking the hard gaze he had with Satori.

Marron looked back and forth between them. "Go on Marron." Satori told her, still holding her eye contact. "He's right; we _do_ need to talk."

Marron nodded and flew on ahead, leaving them alone again. When she was out of earshot, that's when the talking began.

"What was all that about?"

She sighed. "Something Marron and I got ourselves into. But it's nothing to worry over."

"The hell it is." He stepped up to her. "Tell me what's going on."

She shook her head, refusing. Trunks gave a frustrated sigh and ran a hand over his face. "Damn it Satori. I wish you would stop hiding stuff from me."

She looked at him as he continued. "You remember when we were little and we said we would tell each other _everything_? Well, guess what doll; that still applies."

"Trunks, I don't want to tell you because it's none of your concern."

"Just like it wasn't any of my concern what Julie did to you too, huh?" He asked sarcastically.

"Who told you about that?"

"It doesn't matter. It wasn't you."

She rolled her eyes and turned her back to him. "I'm not going to have this talk with you." She flew up in the sky.

"Oh, no you don't." He flew after her, coming in front of her. "We're not finished."

"What's there to say Trunks? Somehow you found out about what Julie did and I just _dragged_ you into more of my personal life." She paused. "Why are you even interested?"

"Because you're my girlfriend Satori and my best bud." He looked down. "I just want to know why you're hiding yourself from me…"

Satori looked at him, eyes going down for a moment. Giving a quiet sigh, she moved closer to him and hugged him tightly, her head resting on his shoulder. Pretty soon, she felt his arms move around her waist; he was hugging her back…and he wasn't going to let her go anytime soon.

"I just don't want you involved in things that may get too deep for you to handle, Trunks." She whispered.

"But Satori…"

"No buts. You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Well, trust me now. I don't want you involved in this. Okay?"

He sighed heavily. "Okay."

As the two flew towards Kame House, Satori's eyes stayed down the whole time. _I hope this doesn't get too deep…or Marron and I will have a hard time getting away this time…_

**Author: Yay, I did an update! Anyway, I kinda feel like this update changed things around (which is what I'm going for). Do you wonder what Satori and Marron are up too? Well, you'll have to wait until I update again. BWHAHAHAHA! Lol, R&R!**


	23. Breakfast

The two flew slowly through the air, heading back to Marron's. Both Saiyans were lost in their respective thoughts; Satori's thoughts basically revolved around the secret she, Marron, and now Trunks, shared. Trunks thoughts…they were mostly on his female companion. Why had she been hiding this from him? She said she didn't want him involved, but…

Trunks sighed. He told her he trusted her, and that was true, but he wanted to be involved. If something horrible happened to her, he didn't know _what_ he would do. His blue eyes traveled over to her and he watched her quietly. Her hair flapped behind her and her eyes looked distant, stars reflecting in her eyes. He tore his gaze from her as they landed on the soft sand of Kame House, right in front of Marron.

"Have you opened the case yet?" Satori asked in a barely audible voice.

Marron shook her blonde head. "No. Not yet. I was waiting for you two to come to we can open it together." She admitted in a soft voice.

She then handed Satori the briefcase. Satori stared at the leathery case for a moment before she sat down on the sand, opening the briefcase. Trunks caught sight of something; money. A hard look came through Satori's eyes as she pulled out the money, examining it.

"Satori…" Marron began.

"It's legit this time, Marron. Duke wasn't playing with us like last time." She told her, dumping all the money in the briefcase onto her lap.

Separating the money into two equal stacks, she pushed Marron's half towards her. Marron hastily picked it up, eyes now resembling that of a deer in headlights. Satori's hard look didn't waver once as she placed her half of the money back in the case.

"Make sure no one sees the money, okay? If they ask where you got it from, say you earned it."

Marron nodded and Satori stood. "Guess we should be leaving now. Sleep well Marron."

"You too." She went into the house.

Trunks and Satori then began to fly home, once again in complete silence. Once back at the Son residence, Trunks locked eyes with the woman in front of him. Satori was trying to avoid his eyes, but it was no use. His hard eyes bore into her chocolate brown orbs, making her twitch slightly from the intense gaze.

"I won't ask anything more of what I saw tonight. But please…" he took her hand. "Promise me if things get to deep for you, you'll tell me so I can help?"

Satori looked away for a moment, nodding her head. He placed his hand on her cheek, making her look at him. "Look me in my eye and tell me."

"I promise Trunks…" she said softly.

He moved his hand from her cheek and kissed her softly before levitating up. "See you tomorrow…"

She nodded. "See you."

When Trunks' silhouette was out of view, she climbed through her window and changed into her nightclothes. Once her head hit the pillow, she went into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Trunks was awoken by two people; his mom and Bra. Both females jumped on his bed.

"Get up Trunks!" Bulma said.

"Time for work!" Bra added.

"Would you two _please_ get off my bed?" he grumbled, placing his left arm over his eyes as if to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

"Only if you agree to wake up!" they said.

"Fine, fine! I'm up. Now leave."

The blue haired females giggled and left the room. Trunks sighed, sitting up in bed. The events from the previous night flashed into his mind and he instantly picked up his phone, dialing the number of a certain person. Though the call was meant to be serious, when he heard her sleepy voice, it brought a smile to his face.

"Mm…hello?"

"Ohayo…"

"Ohayo. May I ask _why_ you're calling me this early in the morning?"

"I just wanted to see if you were awake yet." Satori could hear the hint of a smile in his voice. "But since you aren't, I guess I'm waking you up."

She gave a soft giggle and this made his grin widen. He could hear her get out of bed from over the phone and he heard her yawn.

"What time is it?" she finally spoke.

"Almost seven."

"Why are you up so early?"

"My alarm clocks named mom and Bra."

She gave her soft giggle again. "Sorry. At least Pan's still sleeping. Otherwise, I would be in a crabby mood now."

Trunks chuckled. "Hey Satori…"

"Hai?"

"Hurry and dress. We're going out for breakfast."

"Um…okay. Call me when you're on your way."

"Don't worry I will. Good-bye for now."

"Sayonara."

The two hung up, both with renewed reasons to start the day. Satori yawned as she walked into her bathroom to shower. After taking her usual hot shower, she walked back out into her room, wrapping a fluffy towel around her small frame.

Pan woke up around this time and watched her sister, not saying anything for a moment. _Why is she up so early?_ Pan thought, yawning sleepily. "Hotaru?"

Satori turned. "Morning, Panny. What is it?"

"What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm going out to breakfast with Trunks."

"Oh." Pan yawned again and rested her head on her pillow once more. "Wake me before you leave, okay?"

"Hai."

* * *

Trunks stepped out of his shower and wrapped a towel around him. He sighed, wiping the steam from his shower off of the mirror. He stared at his reflection for a moment, tough blue eyes looking back at him. He then left the bathroom and dressed in his work clothes, hastily tying his hair in a low ponytail to keep it out of the way.

As he walked down the stairs, he bumped into his dad. They growled at each other for a moment, glaring.

"What are you doing up so early?" Vegeta asked.

"I'm going to work." Trunks replied, stepping past him and heading down the stairs.

Bra was sitting on the couch and looked up when her brother made it downstairs. She gave a wolf whistle and a slight blush went across his cheeks. "Where are you going looking so hot?" she asked.

"I'm going to breakfast with Satori and then to work." He told her, putting on his shoes.

"Have fun at work. And tell Satori to call me. There's something I need to talk to her about."

"Okay. Tell mom I said bye." He left out.

Instead of flying like normal, he decided to drive. As he drove towards Satori's, he picked up his cell, dialing her number.

"Hotaru speaking!"

"I'm on my way."

"Okay! See you when you get here! Sayonara!" she hung up.

He placed his phone down in the cupholder and smiled, thinking about the Saiyan female he would see in only a matter of moments.

* * *

Satori walked down the stairs, tackling her father when she saw him.

"Hey daddy!"

"Hey Satori. What has you up so early?" He asked his daughter.

"Trunks and I are going out for breakfast."

"Oh okay. Enjoy breakfast." Videl walked over and rubbed her daughter's hair.

"I will." She hugged her mother.

Videl hugged her back. "You look nice, Satori."

"Thanks mom!" She smiled when she heard a horn outside. "That must be him." she stopped before she walked out the door. "Oh yeah, wake Panny up." She walked out.

Trunks smiled when he saw her and held his arms out. She jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. He chuckled and kissed her cheek. "Hey there."

"Hey Trunks!" Satori said, keeping her arms around him. "About time you made it." She teased.

He chuckled again. "Oh, shut up." He was leaning against his car, his arms draped around the female Saiyan's waist. "Ready to go?"

She nodded and let him go. "Come on. I'm hungry!" She got in the car.

Trunks climbed in the car and drove off.

* * *

The two were unusually chatty in the car. Satori had her head resting on Trunks' shoulder, one of her hands laced with his own. As they talked, they didn't bring up what happened only hours before. Satori closed her eyes, sighing in content. Trunks looked at her.

"What are you sighing about?"

"I'm in content." She replied softly.

"Doushite?"

"Because, dummy. I'm here with you…isn't that enough?" she opened her eyes, looking at him.

Trunks smiled and placed a kiss on her cheek, gently removing his hand from hers only to wrap his arm around her shoulders. The Saiyan female smiled and closed her eyes again, a comforting silence filling the air.

**Author: Wow...don't you just love it when I update? but yeah, this was one of my lazy chapters, but I hope you enjoy it. R&R! Sayonara until next update! **


	24. Marron and Fangirls

Over at Kami House, Marron was just now waking up. She sighed as her alarm clock went off, the ringing echoing in her ears. Her blonde hair was like a lion's mane around her head and her blue eyes were clouded over with sleep. Unsteadily, she climbed out of bed and went to her closet to pick out something to wear for that day. She yawned as she walked into her bathroom to shower, keeping a weary eye out of the pervy Master Roshi.

Not even her hot shower could wake her up. As she dressed in a pair of dark washed jeans and a white blouse, she thought about the previous night. _Me and Satori have to be more careful…_ she thought to herself. Knowing her friend, she wasn't too worried about it; but Marron _was_ always the one to worry about most situations between her and her friends. She sighed as she slipped on the shoes she had on only the night before and left her room, going into the front room. She spied the blonde hair of her mother and froze when her icy blue eyes turned to her.

"Morning, Marron. You're up early."

"I am?" Marron blinked and looked down at her watch. She laughed nervously. "I guess I am, huh? Well, see you mom!" she went to the door.

"Wait."

Marron's hand froze right above the doorknob and she hesitantly looked over at her mom. "Yes?"

Eighteen didn't say anything for a long while, making Marron nervous. When she finally spoke, Marron released the air she had been holding.

"Have a good day."

"Thanks mom. Bye!" Marron ran out of the house.

Marron jumped, levitating in the air for a moment before she flew off, full speed. She didn't have to work today, so she decided to go visit her favorite friend at her grandfather's dojo. _It's been a while since I've seen Pan…and Bra for that matter. Hmm…it's time for a little group gathering. _

* * *

Meanwhile, Trunks and Satori were eating breakfast. Satori sipped on her coffee and watched as Trunks devoured his breakfast. He looked up at her after a moment and blinked.

"What?"

"Nothing." She shrugged. "I'm just realizing why people always stare when a Saiyan eats, that's all."

People were, in fact, staring at them with wide eyes. Already, the two had finished off a _very_ big breakfast, and were surprisingly not full yet. It was as bad as Goku eating up all of Master Roshi's winnings from the World Tournament when he was younger; but that's a different story.

Finally, the two paid their tab and left. Satori stretched as she got into Trunks' car, letting her hands fall into her lap. Trunks climbed into the driver's side and pulled off, heading to Capsule Corp.

"So, did you enjoy breakfast?"

"Yes. Thank you." Satori smiled at him and kissed his cheek. She giggled when she saw his cheeks take on a red tint. "Aw, you're blushing."

That only made him blush harder and he kept his eyes to the road to avoid looking at her. Satori frowned for a moment, but didn't say anything, leaning her head onto his shoulder. It was silent in the car, like always, with the only sound being the radio. Trunks emitted a low groan when Capsule Corp came into view.

"What is it?" A soft voice asked.

"Look ahead."

Satori blinked and did as he instructed and a vein instantly began to throb on her head. The many fan girls were outside, waiting on him. It was no use in hiding now; they had seen them. At least they were courteous enough to wait until he parked his car; but once that was completed, it was squealing fan girls running over from then on.

"I say we get out of here." Trunks looked at her.

"Well, come on then!" Satori took his hand and ran with him.

It wouldn't be _that_ hard for them to get through the many fan girls…well, at least that's what Satori _thought_. They were _everywhere!_ Trunks cowered behind Satori.

"Save me!"

"And get attacked by your many admirers?! That's suicide!"

The look he gave her then was priceless. "Satori, you are my best friend and my girlfriend. I greatly appreciate what you're going to do for me."

"Wha?"

"Be careful!" He pushed her into the crowd of girls before hightailing it out of the area.

"Grr!!! Trunks, you're mine!" Satori shouted to his retreating back.

"Come out alive, Satori!" He only glanced back once to shout back at her before disappearing inside.

* * *

The door to Trunks' office was thrown open and he looked up, only to see a ticked off Saiyan female glaring at him.

"…Hey Satori. You look mad."

"You're _so_ in for it." She growled as she closed the office door.

"Don't hurt me!"

His plea was on deaf ears. Satori chased him around his office, knocking over random office appliances in her wake.

"Satori, stop!" Trunks stopped.

He'd thought she would stop, but she couldn't. She plowed right into him, knocking them both to the ground. Both hadn't noticed their uh…_positions_ on his office floor. If anyone were to walk in right then…let's just say that the sight would not have been very nice.

Satori blinked and looked down, seeing that she was straddling his lap. Her face burned and she quickly moved. Trunks' face was equally red and he sat up, his eyes avoiding the blushing woman beside him.

"Well uh…" he coughed.

Satori glanced at him and pushed him over, a smirk playing on her face. "Now, don't go tell your friends about that. It could mess up my popularity."

Trunks sat up again. "_What_ popularity?"

Satori growled and he laughed. "I'm only kidding, Hotaru. So…how did things go outside?"

"It was a _mad house!_" Satori jumped up. "I could've died out there and it would've been _your fault!_"

"Aw, but you did it out of love right?"

"No! I did it because you _pushed me into them!_"

Trunks chuckled nervously. "Please, don't hurt me."

"Oh, I _will_ get my revenge on you, Briefs." Satori stood up and walked to the door. "Just you wait." She left out of the office, leaving him staring at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

* * *

"Marron! I'm surprised to see you here!" Pan said when her blonde haired friend came into her grandpa Hercule's dojo. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I haven't seen you in a while Pan, that's all. Training hard?"

"Not really. I was just taking a break." Pan replied, untying the trademark orange bandana she wore. "So what's up?"

"Nothing. Hey, later on I was thinking we could have a little get together."

"Who?"

"All of us; me, you, Satori, and Bra."

"Just like old times!" Pan laughed. "But I'm not sure Satori will be home in time."

"What time does your sister usually get off?"

"Um…depends. If she's helping Trunks with his many fan girls, then maybe around five thirty. If not, she's home at five fifteen."

Marron nodded. "She and Trunks spend a lot of time together, huh?"

"Well, yeah. After all, that is her boy–" Pan slapped her hands over her mouth.

The blonde lifted an eyebrow. "Her _what?_"

"Nothing! I um…have to get back. I'm supposed to be sparring with Grandpa right now! See ya Marron!"

"Pan, wait!" Marron called, but it was too late; Pan was already gone.

Marron sighed as she left the dojo, stepping out into the cool morning. _I wonder what Pan was going to say…_ she thought, heading to Bra's house. _Maybe Bra will have a little more time to talk than Pan…and maybe she can tell me about what's going on between Trunks and Hotaru…_

**Author: Guess what, guess what, and guess what! This'll be the first post I make today. I'm shooting for making more than one update today while my creative juices are flowing. XD, cool huh? Anyway, look out of the next update!**


	25. The News

Speaking of the blue haired beauty, Bra was still at home, taking a day off. If she didn't do anything later –and could avoid her mom's showing her the different ways to build things like the plague- she would have her dad take her shopping…again. I mean, it's not like he did anything all day anyway, right? Training, something he loved doing every minute of day, was considered not important in Bra's case. It's not like a threat was going to come to Earth, right? Exactly.

Bra sighed, rubbing her blue eyes. Too bad she didn't have a younger sibling she could hang out with; but then again, if she had a younger sibling, she probably wouldn't be as spoiled as she was now. Eh, so much for that. Bra tensed after a moment, sensing the familiar ki of her brainy mother. _Uh oh…time to hightail it out of here!_ She thought, jumping up from the couch and running outside. She didn't see the young woman walk into her path before it was too late. Both went crashing down to the ground, landing on their butts with a hard 'thump.'

"Ow! That hurt!" Bra squinted one eye closed as she rubbed her bottom. "Watch where you're going!"

"In case you didn't notice, _you_ ran into _me!_"

Bra blinked and finally recognized the girl sitting in front of her. "Marron!" She tackled her friend to the ground, hugging her. "It's been _forever!_"

Choking, Marron tried to wiggle free of her friend's tight hug, but had no luck. "Nice to see you too, Bra! Now, would you _let me go_?!"

"Oops! Sorry." Bra released her. "What are you doing here?"

Marron took a breath before answering. "I just haven't seen you in a while, so I decided to stop by." She stood up, helping Bra up as well. "And I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Talk to me about what?"

"Well…" Marron hesitated for a moment. "What's going on between Trunks and Satori?"

Bra gasped. "You mean you didn't know?! They're dating!" She answered proudly, smiling hugely.

"_WHAT?!_" Marron's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "They're…_dating?!_"

"Well, yeah. They hooked up a couple of days ago." Bra blinked. "You _seriously_ didn't know?"

Marron felt numb as she shook her head. "No…I didn't know." _So is that why he was with her last night?_ Her thoughts began running wild. _Why didn't someone tell me?!_

"Marron! Hello, Earth to Marron!" Bra knocked on her friend's head.

Marron blinked and came back to reality. "Huh? What?"

"I asked you why you are surprised. I mean, haven't you noticed the way they act around one another?"

"Not really…I don't pay attention to them like that." She admitted softly. _I can't believe it! How could they hook up behind my back?!_ A hurt looked crossed her face, one that Bra saw.

"Marron, what is it? You look sad." A look of concern crossed Bra's face.

"It…it's nothing." Marron turned her back to her friend. "I'll call you later. I still have more things to talk to you about." She then left.

Bra stood dumbfounded. What brought along Marron's sad mood all of a sudden? And why did she look so surprised at the news of Trunks and Satori being together? Those questions flooded through Bra's mind and she didn't know the answer to either of them.

_Strange…but I'll find out later. Now, I have to call Hotaru about this…maybe she'll know._ Bra nodded to herself before taking to the air, feeling her mom's ki close to her position.

* * *

"Wait a minute! Slow down. You mean to tell she looked _sad_?!" This was Satori's reaction to the news.

She was on the phone with Bra, sitting in the break room of Capsule Corp. She had been in a meeting earlier, but had to leave because of Bra's constant text messages. She now sat surprised at what her friend told her about her encounter with Marron earlier.

"Yup. I don't know how she realized ya'll were together, but when she came here earlier, she asked about what was up between you and my brother. I told her, and she seemed so surprised."

"Weird…" Satori looked up when she heard the sound of footsteps. She smiled at the male that walked in. "Well speak of the devil."

"My brother just walked in, didn't he?"

"Yup." Satori's smile widened some as he walked over to her and kissed her cheek. "Hey Bra, let me call you later."

"Okay. Behave at work, Hotaru!"

"You know I won't." Satori hung up and her eyes locked with Trunks'. "Hey Trunks. How was the meeting?"

"It would've been better if you'd stayed. You were my distraction. But alas, you left me all alone." He sighed dramatically. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Your sister."

"Oh really? What did she want?"

"She just wanted to tell me about something that happened earlier, that's all." Satori shrugged nonchalantly. As she looked at Trunks then, she suddenly remembered the revenge she had on him.

She waited until he got up and she trapped him against one corner of the room. His blue eyes looked surprised and she only smirked, running her hands down his chest.

"Satori…what are you—"

"Shh…be quiet." She whispered in his ear, lightly dragging her fingernails across the nape of his neck. When he shivered, she smirked seductively. "Do you know how long I've wanted to this in the office?"

Trunks only shook his head, watching her. Satori continued to torture him until she had him panting. Right before he was about to reach his breaking point and take her right there in the office, she stopped and walked out as if nothing happened.

"See you Trunks. I still have some work to finish before I go to lunch!" She called over her shoulder at him, waving.

Trunks was in shock. _What the…why did she…how…_"Satori! Come back here! You're not being fair!"

Her laugh was the only thing he heard as he ran after her.

**Author: Okay, I realize this chapter may suck, but I was winging it on this one. Maybe the ideas will flow better next time. xD**


	26. Author's Note

Author's Note

**Author's Note**

**Wow, I haven't posted on this story in months! **

**:( Yeah, I've been kinda lazy and didn't want to post.**

**But since I have nothing else to do, I'll get right to work on it and post another chapter.**

**I hope people still read this…**

**Next Chapter Up Soon!**

**Snow**


	27. Confusion and Jealousy

Hours after she left, Pan was still thinking about Marron's visit. She emitted a low groan as she hit her head lightly against the wall behind her. _And I almost told her that Satori and Trunks were together. Mom always said I couldn't hold water. _She thought to herself, running a hand through her dark hair. Pan was sitting on the floor of Hercule's dojo, twirling a water bottle around in her hand. Everyone else was too afraid to fight her, and Hercule gave his usual excuse of "concentrating on his own training" to teach anyone else. It was another boring day. To be honest, the most eventful thing was Marron coming into the dojo.

"This sucks…" The Saiyan female said quietly to herself, bored out of her mind.

Finally fed up with just hanging around the dojo, she hopped up and went into the locker room, changing into her street clothes. It was time she did something. Without telling Hercule she was leaving, she left, heading for her car. She didn't fly much and when she did, it was only in the forest. She wasn't too big on flying like Bra, Marron, and Satori were; it made people look. Oh well.

The wind blew through her hair as she drove along through the city, thinking of where she should go. She would go visit her sister…but she was probably working on something and she didn't like going there when she was working. Pan looked down at her watch. _She should be going to lunch right about now. Oh, what the hell? I need something to do with my time anyway._ She sped off in the direction of Capsule Corp.

* * *

"Aw, come on Satori! Let's go out to eat like we used to do!"

Satori had her head down on her arms, hair spilling over her desk. Bra had decided to come by to annoy the hell out of her about going out to eat for lunch. So far, she hadn't given in….but she knew it was only a matter of time before she got fed up with Bra's whining that she would agree to it.

"Satori….!"

"What Bra?"

"_Come on!..._" She whined. "Let's go out to eat."

"No Bra…"

Bra sighed, pouting. She looked around the office for someone who might convince her and she smirked when a certain twin walked in. "Panny!"

Satori looked up at her sister's nickname, spotting her walking over. "Great. Now _you're _here too."

"Well, hello to you too, Satori." Pan said, lifting an eyebrow. "What has your tail in a knot?"

"Bra's annoying me."

"I am not! The quicker you agree to go out to eat, then the quicker I'll leave you alone."

Satori gave her best friend a blank look. "You're lying and you know it."

"Well, I had to give it a shot." The Saiyan shrugged her shoulders, earning a laugh from Pan and an eye roll from Satori.

"Come on, Hotaru. Going out to eat couldn't be that bad. It'll be fun, actually." Pan was in this now, batting her eyelashes at her sister.

"Not you too, Panny!"

Both Pan and Bra gave her puppy dogs eyes, knowing that she couldn't resist them for long. Finally, giving off a frustrated cry, she agreed. At lunchtime, Pan and Bra practically dragged her out of the office. Trunks was getting off the elevator as this was happening. He lifted an eyebrow at Satori's struggling.

"Um…where are you going, Hotaru?"

"Bra and Pan are dragging me off to lunch, whether I like it or not!" She said as she continued to struggle. All three girls were near equal strength and it was kinda hard for her to get away; but then again she wasn't really trying like she usually would.

"You keep her at the office too much Trunks." Bra accused her brother. "So we're taking her out."

"Yeah!" Pan agreed.

"Save me!" Satori wailed as they dragged her onto the elevator.

"Sorry, Hotaru! I don't want to get killed in the process!"

"TRUNKS, YOU BASTARD!!" Satori yelled as the elevator doors closed.

Trunks sweatdropped. _She's going to kill me for that later, I know it._ He thought, sighing as he walked back to his office to do some paperwork. _Why do I always get in trouble? This is not fair._

* * *

"I swear I hate you two." Satori grumbled.

"But Satori we love you!" Bra hugged her tightly as they walked through the town, looking for somewhere to eat at.

"Whatever! If you loved me, you would've let me stayed at the office where I wanted to be at!"

"Why did you want to stay at the office so bad, Hotaru?" Pan looked at her sister.

"Because…I just wanted to." Satori's face flushed and she looked away.

Pan and Bra snickered, plotting to use that against her later. Right now, they were hungry! Finally, after fifteen minutes of searching, Pan found a small little café where they could eat at.

"About time!" Satori touched her grumbling stomach. Even though she protested coming to lunch with them, she was hungry.

The girls were soon seated and they ordered their food. Pan started small talk while they waited.

"So…how has ya'll day been so far?"


	28. Confusion and Jealousy part 2

"Boring! Except Marron stopped by." Bra stretched.

Pan spit out the water she had been drinking, eyes growing wide. "Marron visited you too?!"

"Yeah." Bra lifted an eyebrow. "I take it that she visited you as well, Panny?"

"Yeah. She came to the dojo. She asked me about Trunks and Satori…"

Satori and Bra looked at each other, furrowing their brows. Having been sitting quietly most of the time, Satori finally spoke. "Why is Marron so worried about me and Trunks?" she asked them, her voice quiet. "You don't think she likes him…do you?"

"Can't tell. I mean, she's never mentioned liking him before. But I have to admit, she has been acting weird." Bra tapped her cheek. "I might do some detective work on this. This is strange, even for Marron."

"Hmm…oh, well! I wouldn't worry about it, Hotaru! You have Trunks so I wouldn't worry about Marron!" Pan said, with a cheerful tone to her voice.

Satori looked at her sister, frowning again. "But Marron's my friend, as well as yours. I'm not worried about Trunks going after her…I just wanna know if she likes him and if us being together is bothering her."

"We'll find out later. Right now, it's time to eat!" Bra announced as their food arrived.

On the other side of town, Marron stared at the sea. She had gone home for a while, seeing as though there was nothing else to do. Eighteen and Krillin weren't home at the moment, so she was stuck with Oolong, Master Roshi and Turtle. Sighing, the young woman sat on the shore, letting the water brush over her feet. She shielded her eyes as she looked up at the bright sun.

_I don't get it. We promised to tell each other everything. We're going through so much hell with Duke, but we still promised to always let each other know about any hook-ups or crushes we might have_. Marron thought, frowning. _If that was the case…then why didn't she tell me that she had gotten with Trunks? Why did I have to find out from Bra and Pan?_ An angered look came to her face. _It's not fair! Why does __**she**__ always get whatever she wants?! It's not fair_. A smirk appeared on the blonde's face. _I never thought I would say this, but…Hotaru, enjoy your time with Trunks…because it won't be long if I have anything to do with it._

**Author's Note: Idk if this chapter showed up completely on your computers, but on mine it didn't show the rest so I decided to split the chapter up into two parts. Hopefully, this change will work better. .**


	29. Lunchtime & the World Tournament

After they finished their meal, the Saiyan females sighed, patting their full stomachs. Bra looked at her friends with half-lidded eyes, before her cerulean orbs traveled to the loads of dishes the three had accumulated.

"Wow girls…now _that's_ what I call a lunch!" Pan sighed, a silly grin on her face.

Satori giggled. "True. Though, I could've eaten a little more. But I don't think the kitchen has enough food left." She laughed along with Bra.

"Well come on. Let's pay for this food and leave." Each girl got up, not noticing the star struck looks they got from the employees of the restaurant and the other customers who had decided to eat there as well. They paid their bill, having split the cost into three equal parts, and departed the café with full stomachs and happy moods.

"It'll suck going back to work." Satori pouted, actually against going back to the office.

"I know what you mean. But hey, at least you have my brother there to keep you busy. If you know what I mean." Bra nudged her with her elbow, winking at her.

"Ugh, is that all you think about, Bra Briefs?" Pan looked at her friend with a slightly disgusted look written upon her face.

"Not really. But you girls gotta think of it like this. Just imagine yourself doing something like _that_ in an office, _especially_ the office of the company president? Too bad Uub isn't the president of a company. I would've—"

"Bra!" The twins cut her off, giving her disgusted looks. "Too much!"

Bra laughed at their reactions, deciding to leave the rest to the imagination. As they walked back to Capsule Corp, Bra stopped, gawking at a pretty outfit in one of the windows.

"Look you guys! Isn't it _beautiful?!_" She squealed excitedly.

Pan and Satori looked at each other, sweatdropping. They looked at the outfit for a moment and when Bra made a move to go inside the store, they both grabbed her arms, pulling her away.

"Wait you guys! I wanna buy it!!" She whined.

"Come on Bra. I gotta get back to work." Satori told her, not once lessening her grip on her arm.

"Ugh! I HATE YOU TWO!" Bra screamed.

"Hey, that sounds like what I said when you two dragged me off to lunch!" Satori laughed along with her twin as Bra continued to struggle and whine.

* * *

Trunks sat in his office, staring blankly at the wall. He had his feet reclined on his desk and a very bored expression was on his face. Sometimes he hated being President of Capsule Corp; it often left him with nothing to do, since most of his secretaries filled out most of his work for him. All he had to do was sign it…and it led to a very bored Demi-Saiyan on most days. Sighing, Trunks laid flicked a pen off his desk, closing his eyes. His trained ears picked up the sound of someone opening the door and he opened one eye to see Satori entering.

"Satori! About time you came back from lunch. I was bored!" Trunks announced, an instant smile coming onto his face.

Satori smirked slightly, sitting down onto the chair in front of his desk. "You should do something besides just sitting here and being bored."

"There's nothing _for_ me to do, Hotaru. I have people like you to do some of my work for me."

She made a face and tossed a pen at him. He chuckled, watching as it slipped into his lap. "No need to throw things, Hotaru dear."

"Oh shut up, baka." She stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "I have some things for you to sign, anyway. That should keep you busy."

"How much stuff do you have for me to sign?" He asked, skeptically.

"Two piles." She smirked at his grimace. "Aw, coming on Trunks!" She cooed in a voice one would use with a baby. "It's not like you're doing anything else."

"But _still!_ I hate signing." He pouted.

"Just like I hate half the female population in this office, but do you hear me complaining?" She questioned, a smile coming onto her face at the glare he gave her.

"That's different!"

"How, love? You hate signing papers, but you don't have to fill them out. I do that for you. I'm sure if there was a way that I could forge your signature _perfectly_, I would, but that could really get me into a serious amount of trouble and I'm sure you don't want that, now do you Trunks?"

"No…"

"Okay then. So for the documents to actually _mean_ something without an illegal signature on them, you _have_ to sign them yourself, love. Or, they could end up like a 5-year contract and become null and void."

He stared at her blankly. "I hate you sometimes, you know that?"

"But you'll learn to love me as the years go on!" She giggled as she stood, heading out the door.

"I think…" He murmured lowly to her retreating back, "I might be starting to…"

* * *

Satori hummed as she made her way back to her desk. For some reason, going out with the girls was a great stress reliever for her. She wasn't worried about the people in her office anymore or anything for that matter. She passed Julie's desk, surprised to see the woman sitting there.

"Huh. I didn't know you were back." She smirked, stopping in front of the blonde's desk and crossing her arms over her chest.

Julie's eyes widened in fright as she scrambled to stand up and get away from the Saiyan. Satori held back a laugh at the way the blonde was trying to get away from her; call her demented, but she _loved_ every minute of toying with her co-worker. You could say it was…_fulfilling_ in a way.

"Aw, trying to get away from me? Scared of little old Satori?" She taunted, stepping closer to her.

"G-get away from me! You freak!"

"Freak? Why don't you try thinking of something more insulting?" Satori smirked again, stepping even closer.

Julie's eyes widened more than usual as the Saiyan female leaned close to her, staring her right in the eyes.

"A word of advice, Julie. If you so much as _think_ about harming me in any way again, there won't be anyone here to catch you next time."

Walking off with a triumphant smile on her face, she left Julie to stare after her. Soon, the work day flew past and Satori went to Trunks' office. Since he took her to breakfast that morning, she hadn't driven her car and she needed a ride home. She knocked, entering before he could give her entrance. He was filing papers and wasn't paying attention to her. She watched him for a moment and tried to sneak up on him.

"I already know you're in here, Hotaru. No sense in trying to sneak up on me."

"Aww, no fair." She pouted. "It sucks that you have to those good ears. It makes sneaking up on your hard. Maybe I should just disguise my power level next time."

Trunks looked behind him at her. "That won't work. I know your ki better than you know it yourself."

"Just crush my dream, why don't you Briefs?" She rolled her eyes at him, pushing him slightly. "Hurry up. I need a ride home."

"Fine, fine." He finished and grabbed his keys from on top of the file cabinet. "Let's get you home before you have a fit."

She just rolled her eyes and walked out of the office.

* * *

At the Son house, Videl was cooking dinner, getting ready for her twins and husband to come home. Goten was upstairs in the guest room with Mei and both were sleeping. It was quiet in the house; too quiet. Videl frowned as she looked out of the window for any sign of her family. _I wonder when they're gonna get home this time_. She thought as she poured frozen vegetables in the soup she was making. As that cooked, she left the kitchen and went into the living room to turn on the TV. She sighed, seeing that her father was on the news…_again_.

"_So Hercule, do you have any new fighters who are willing to fight in the tournament this year?" _A red-haired news reporter asked the aging "Champion of the World."

"_Well, of course! They might not be as strong as I was back in my day, but they're better than any other 'fighter' out there! Two of the fighters I recommend happen to be my granddaughters!" _Hercule stated proudly, hands on his hips just like the old days. He really hadn't changed; except for the huge baldness in the middle of his head.

Videl sighed. "I wonder if they know…"

As on cue, Pan stormed into the house, the anger evident in her walk and in her voice. "MOM! Your father _just_ signed me and Satori up for the World Tournament! Do you _know_ how long it's been since I've last fought in a tournament?! I was five! You hear me?! _FIVE!!"_

"Pan, not so loud. Your uncle and cousin are sleeping. And I know; I just heard the news. But I wouldn't be so worried about it. I mean, you _are_ pretty strong to say the least, Panny. You beat your uncle when you were five, remember?"

"But that's not the point! I don't _wanna_ fight! I bet you that Vegeta isn't making Bra fight!"

"We're not making you girls fight either. Though it would be fun seeing you the both of you fight in a tournament again." Videl was leaning over the back of the couch, hands under her chin.

"Mom! This isn't fair!" Pan whined.

Both females turned to the sound of the door opening. Standing in the entranceway was Satori and Gohan, staring at the two.

"Um…what's with all the yelling? We could hear you outside the door." Gohan asked cautiously.

"Did something happen?" Satori asked, blinking.

"Well…" Videl started.

"Grampa Hercule just signed us up for the World Tournament, Hotaru!" Pan interjected.

"WHAT?!"

"Oh boy…" Videl rubbed her temples as her twins exclaimed loudly.

"I don't wanna fight!! I haven't done that since we were kids!" Satori exclaimed.

"I _know!_ I saw we go to Grampa's dojo and show him how bad of a choice that was!" Pan had a fire in her eyes.

"Twins, sit down for a minute." Gohan directed, pushing them both to the couch.

Reluctantly they sat, arms crossed over their chests. Gohan moved in front of them, flicking off the TV as he did so. They stared at him with equally dark brown eyes, waiting for what their father was going to say. Gohan was quiet for a moment, adjusting his glasses.

"Take it like this girls," He started, "This could be fun for the both of you. Panny, you still train at the dojo anyway, so it wouldn't make much of a difference to you. Satori, I'm sure you'd like t fight in a tournament again too. It's been so long since you've fought, or even _trained_ at that. So, this could be like a warm-up. And I can assure you that Goten will be in the tournament. And Vegeta, Trunks, and maybe even your Grandpa Goku!"

"What about you daddy? Aren't you gonna enter? What about you mom? You told me that you fought in the same tournament as daddy did when you two were teenagers." Pan blinked.

Videl and Gohan blushed, looking at each other. They looked at their daughters after a moment. "Well…we hadn't thought of it."

"Hey Panny, they could be right. This could be fun!" Satori clenched her fists tightly in excitement.

"Just think of it! Fighting again!" Pan jumped up. "Come to think of it, fighting with Uncle Goten and Trunks and everyone else again could be fun!"

"Yeah!" Satori blinked and looked down. "You know…maybe Grampa Hercule _was_ right about signing us up. It could be a great reprieve…and maybe we can get Bra and Marron to enter too."

"Please! They're too much of girly-girls to fight. I mean, have you _ever_ seen _either_ of them sparring before?"

"Well, no. But maybe they'll enter…"

"Slim chance." Pan scoffed.

Satori giggled and looked at her parents. "Well, we got some training to do!" She looked at Pan. "Come on, Panny! Let's go change and get right to it!"

"Okay!" The twins got up and ran upstairs to their room.

Gohan chuckled as he sat down on the couch. "Those two will never change."

Videl smiled, cuddling up next to her husband. "You should know that by now, sweetheart." She kissed his cheek gently and got up to finish cooking.

* * *

"So, are you two entering for real?" Satori was on the phone with Trunks, relaying the news of the World Tournament to him.

"Yup! We've been training since we've heard the news. We might be a little rusty. Well, I might be; Pan's been training a lot at Grampa Hercule's dojo, so she's got that advantage over me. Are you going to enter?"

"Might as well. I haven't been in a tournament in so long…it would be nice to fight different people again."

"That's true. You think your sister will enter?"

"Bra? Nope. Bra doesn't fight much and I don't think a tournament would be on her to-do list."

Satori frowned. "Aww. I wanted her to enter. But oh well. Hey, you think Uub will enter? He loves fighting more than anyone else I know!"

"Knowing him, yeah. Is Goten going to enter?"

"You know it! Mom told him the news when he woke up and he was stoked! I'm excited. You think your dad is going to enter?" She asked, twisting her hair.

"He doesn't have anything else to do, but I really don't know." Trunks rolled over onto his back. He was in the living room, lying on the floor with the quiet murmur of the TV in the background.

"Hmm…well, all in all, this should be fun. I'm really looking forward to fighting in the tournament again. I hope we get paired off to fight against each other." She smirked on her side of the line.

Trunks chuckled. "You know, I never got you back for beating me that one time. But we won't know until the Tournament starts. By the way, when does it begin?"

"In five months. It's not a long time to get ready, but hey, it'll be fine, I guess."

"I guess so. But hey, I need to go tell Vegeta about it. So I'll call you back, okay?"

"Okay! Bye Trunks!" Satori hung up.


	30. Preparation

Unfortunately for the excited friends, who were all roaring for the World Tournament, Marron had decided to fight as well. She figured she'd at least make it through the preliminaries; she just _had_ to be there to spy on a certain pair. She paced back and forth upsetting the hairstyle she had tediously curled it in that morning in a fit of excitement and slight annoyance. _What's up with those two?! Pan wouldn't tell me they were together, Bra actually looked _happy_ about it…where was I when this happened?! _She sighed, stopping in her tracks. She turned towards the sound of her vibrating phone on her dresser. Frowning, she contemplated answering it then thought _what the hell_. Sighing, she went over and grabbed her phone on the fourth ring.

"Hello? Marron speaking."

"Hey Marron!"

_Oh, great. _Holding in another sigh, she put on a fake voice. "Hey Hotaru! How are you?"

"I'm great! How are you?" Satori had on her fake voice as well. She just wanted to ask one question and get off the phone.

"I'm fine! So, what's up?"

"I was just wondering are you going to enter the World Tournament this year."

_You can bet your life on it._ Marron thought. Instead she replied, "Not this year. Maybe next time."

"Oh…well, that's all I wanted. Bye Marron!" Before Marron could say her good-byes, Satori hung up.

Refusing to let her anger boil up, Marron resumed her pacing, running her hands through her hair once more. _I've gotta make sure I make past the preliminaries. _She stopped in front of her mirror, staring at the angry scowl on her face. _I have to fight her in one of my matches…the winner will get Trunks. _She smirked, and chuckled darkly at her plan.

* * *

"Satori! Will you get in here already?!" Goten called, looking for his niece.

Satori was outside training. The fallen trees led a pathway to the young woman, who was battling against a copy of herself. It was an old trick Piccolo had shown her once. She looked up when Goten called her name again, flinching slightly when her copy joined with her.

"Hey Uncle Goten!" She waved, smiling. "Looking for me?"

"Um…duh!" Goten rolled his eyes as he approached her. "I've been calling your name for the past thirty minutes! Videl wanted me to find you and tell you that dinner is ready. Now come on! I'm ready to eat!" Grabbing her wrist, he dragged her in the direction of her home.

"Uncle Goten!" She whined, "You don't have to drag me!"

"Yes, I do! Even the greatest of fighters need a break. Look at my dad!" Goten said fondly of his father.

He was right. From all the stories the twins had heard about their grandfather, Goku was indeed, the best fighter in the world. It made her proud to say the least. At least he wasn't a liar like her Grandpa Hercule. Giggling softly, she walked through the door of her home with her uncle, sighing in pure delight at the smell of food.

"Mmm! Mom, it smells _heavenly_ in here!" Satori exclaimed, practically floating towards the dinner table.

"Don't you think about it young lady. Go clean up first. Then you can eat."

"But _mooom!_" Satori whined, placing her hand on her growling stomach. It mimicked a bear's growl.

Pan and Mei giggled as Videl gave her oldest twin a stern look and the defeated Saiyan walked slowly up the stairs. Pan leaned back in her chair, stretching.

"I need to start my training soon! Maybe Hotaru and I can spar later." Pan stated, nonchalantly.

"I wouldn't do that on a full stomach." Gohan advised his daughter, looking at her through his rimmed glasses.

"Aw, come on dad! Grampa Goku does it all the time!" Pan smiled. "I remember watching him and Vegeta spar one time. It was pretty electrifying if you ask me. I thought they were gonna kill each other! I think that's what Vegeta wanted to do in the first place."

"I'm sure he wouldn't. After all, Vegeta's goal has been to surpass my dad. I think he'll finally be happy when he does." Goten yawned and looked up the stairs. "Satori, hurry up!"

"I'm coming!" Satori huffed, descending the stairs. She had taken a quick shower and up on a fresh set of clothes. "I'm clean now. Can I eat?"

Videl smiled at her daughter and her childish face. "Yes, Satori. You may eat."

"Yay!" Punching the air, the young female sat down at the table next to her sister and dug in.

Everyone else ate as well, the Saiyans of the family pacing themselves so that Videl and Mei could have a nice sized dinner as well. Strangely, Goten decided to spark up a conversation in the middle of eating.

"So, is there any one you're hoping to see in the tournament?" He looked at the twins expectantly.

"Well, not really. It would be fun to see the old gang again." Pan tapped her cheek, thinking.

"I want to see Bra fight! But I know that won't happen." Satori laughed at the expense of her friend.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Briefs' household, Trunks was in the gravity room, training. Bra, watched from the door, emitting a sudden sneeze.

"Someone's talking about you!" Trunks called over to her.

"I hope it's nothing bad." Bra commented, yawning. "How long are you going to be in here Trunks? You promised to go into town with me!"

"I don't know, Bra. Why can't you call Uub or Marron to go into town with you?"

"Because Uub isn't talking to me for some strange reason and I kind of don't want to see Marron right now."

"Why not? Isn't she your best friend?"

"Well…yeah, you could say that. But she's been acting a little weird lately. And I _definitely_ don't need any weirdness around me at the moment."

Trunks rolled his eyes as he wiped his brow with the small towel he had. As he walked past his younger sister, he messed up her hair, smirking at the evil look she gave him.

"Why do you _always_ mess up my hair?! Do you _know_ how long it took me to do this?!" Bra stomped her foot.

"I know for a fact that all you did was comb your hair. Not that big of a deal, Bra. Just comb it back." He called over his shoulder as he disappeared up the stairs.

**A/N: I know it's been a long time since I've updated, and I apologize for that. I start typing on a new update, but then the laziness takes over so I never post it. Since school is out, I'll post a lot more. :-) Thanks for your patience with me!**


	31. Gone for a while explanation why

I know I haven't posted on this in a long amount of time. Just as well, I know I'm getting new readers and people want me to update. Okay. I get it. Long story on why I haven't been back on writing like I should be.

I now have a laptop. I know you all are thinking, "Well if you have a laptop, you should be able to post right?" Well, yeah, but that's not my problem. On this story, as well as the other one I'm writing at the same time, I had everything already written out on what the next post would be. Those ideas happened right after another and I saved them on the old computer I used to type up these stories. Unfortunately, we had to restore said computer back to the original state it was in when we got it because of a virus. So everything I had saved on that computer is lost forever. So I'll have to start everything from scratch; that'll take a while, seeing as though I need to reread everything I've posted before so I can get back in the flow. But don't worry. I should be posting like I used to by the end of next week. For everyone who's reading my story _Hope_, I should have something up for that one later on today. For everyone waiting on my Naruto fanfic, _The Angel and the Demon,_ I'll have something up for that by the middle of the week. So, stay tuned.


	32. Problems

As she waited for her brother to get cleaned up, Bra went to her room to inspect the damage made to her hair. Staring at herself in the mirror, the young woman frowned as she lifted a lock of her hair. In all reality, her hair was perfectly fine, but for some strange reason she found something wrong with it. Sighing, she lifted her brush and began maneuvering it through her long, blue locks. The exact replica of her mother, Bra was truly a beauty; but no matter how beautiful others told her she was, self-esteem was a huge mountain she had yet to climb and conquer. She went into her own little world as she did this, staring, but not staring at herself in the mirror.

_I don't know what to think right now._ Bra thought to herself, frowning. _I mean, is Marron out to get Satori? Is she jealous? I know Satori isn't worried about her, but still. If she wanted to, Marron could be a big threat. This is all so confusing._

"Bra!"

"AHH!" She jumped and turned quickly to see Trunks standing behind her. "Ugh, Trunks! Don't do that!"

"I've been standing behind you for the past ten minutes!" Trunks lifted an eyebrow at his younger sister. "What are you thinking about?"

"None of your business!" Bra rolled her eyes, pushing past her brother to grab her very comfortable jacket from off her bed.

"Excuse me for asking. I'll be outside in the car." Trunks walked out.

Bra stared after him, a frown on her pretty face. _I wonder if I should tell him about what's going on…maybe I should let Hotaru tell him instead. Aye! All this stressing will make me old!_ Bra shook her thoughts away, jogging from her room and down the stairs. Her first stop: the mall.

* * *

Once in the mall, Bra's senses went into overdrive. It wasn't long before she had her brother carrying tons of bags from different stores, a feat that could only be somewhat accomplished by the demi Saiyan. Currently, the pair was in another shoe store as Bra tried on many shoes.

"Trunks, what do you think about this pair?" Bra asked her brother, prancing in front of him in a pair of high heeled boots, with laces.

Trunks sat resting in a chair, opening one of his eyes. He opened both to look at the shoes better, tilting his head slightly. "You like those?"

"Of course! Though, these are not for me. They're for my best friend!"

"Hotaru?"

"Yes! We wear the same size and I've always wanted to shop for her. So, do you think she'll like these?"

Trunks frowned, thinking of Satori and the shoes he had seen her in. "I don't know Bra…these seem more like your type of shoe." He smirked. "Are you just buying those for her so you can borrow them a lot?"

"Ugh, no! I have these shoes already in grey and I wanted to get Satori the same pair, but in black." She turned away from her brother to look in a mirror at herself. "She'll like these, I'm sure." She kicked the shoes off, going back to her normal height.

"So, may I ask _why_ you're buying so many shoes and clothes, Bra?" Trunks asked as he stretched his arms over his head, watching as she picked up the shoes she was going to buy. She had at least four boxes in her hands.

"I already told you. I'm shopping for Hotaru as well. You know she really doesn't shop. She's been busy lately…" Bra frowned, her voice going soft.

Trunks frowned as well, thinking of what he encountered with Hotaru and Marron that night. As Bra paid for her shoes, Trunks gathered all of her other bags and headed out of the door. His sister wasn't too far behind him. Stepping in front of him, she grabbed some of her bags from him.

"So you can see." She told him at his surprised face. "We can go home now, Trunks. I'm done shopping for now."

"Okay, this is not my sister talking." Trunks stated, walking behind her as she led the way out of the mall. "What's bothering you, sis?"

Bra didn't turn to face him. She continued walking, gathering her thoughts. She could feel her brother's eyes on her and she sighed, being to talk in a soft voice. "I'm just worried about her, you know? She's my best friend…and I support her with everything, but…I'm scared for her."

"Scared why?"

"She's gotten herself in trouble…" Bra whispered.

They had made it to Trunks' car and as they loaded everything in the trunk, Trunks looked at Bra fully. "Bra…what do you know about a guy named Duke?" He asked as he closed the trunk.

Bra froze, and the color seemed to drain from her face. She looked at her brother with shock in her blue eyes. Trunks' eyes narrowed and he looked at her seriously. "Bra…talk."

"How…how do you know about Duke?" She asked him quietly.

"Just tell me what you know about him."

Bra closed her eyes, shaking herself. She climbed in the car, her eyes down. "Fine…just get in the car. I'll tell you on the way home."

Trunks lifted an eyebrow, getting into the car and starting it up. As they got on the road back to Capsule Corp, he glanced at his sister. "Okay. Talk."

"Duke is the guy Satori is in trouble with. She and Marron got caught up with this guy somehow. From what Hotaru has told me, she needed some extra money so she could save up for something for her mom and dad. She didn't tell me exactly what they do, but it's not good. She and Marron want to get out of it, but he's making it hard for them. Especially Satori. He's taken a liking to her and won't let her leave him so easily. I used to think he liked Marron, but Satori told me he likes to keep Marron around only as his bait for smaller jobs, because with her blonde hair, she's seen as very beautiful by the masses. But anyway, I'm so scared for her." Bra's voice hitched in her throat. "He's hit her before, Trunks. He may be human, but Satori won't hurt him for the simple fact that she owes him…and that he could really hurt her and Marron. He doesn't know of her strength…of Marron's strength. He thinks she's just a regular human. True, half of her is…but it's that Saiyan part of her that she won't let show."

Trunks was truly confused and angry. He needed to talk to Satori, but he knew what would happen if he confronted her. He kept his eyes on the road, silent. Bra looked over at him and saw that his jaw was clenched and his hand held onto the steering wheel so tightly, until his knuckles were white. In a rare moment of affection, she lightly placed her hand on his and leaned against him.

"Trunks…I don't know how you found out about what Satori has gotten herself into…but I can tell you it'll be okay. I know Satori will be able to get herself and Marron out of whatever they're involved in. They're both strong women…they'll survive it unharmed."

Trunks nodded, only half hearing her. He needed to talk to the Saiyan female when he got home. He needed her to explain things to him. Thoroughly.

* * *

At the Son home, Satori and Pan were outside sparring. Goten and Gohan sat in the grass watching them, a smirk plastered on both of their faces. Gohan was studying his girls' fighting styles, seeing so much of his father in the way they threw their punches and the utter amusement in their eyes as they fought. The proud father watched as his girls jumped away from each other, moving into a fighting stance.

"Panny, maybe you should go back to training with Gramps." Satori told her twin, clenching and unclenching a gloved fist.

"Hmph. It's not me who needs the training the most. Maybe you should train with Grandpa, Hotaru. I see Gramps fighting style has rubbed off on you…meaning you have none!"

Satori growled, launching at her sister. Goten chuckled at the two. "Say, Gohan. Have they always been bad at taunting each other?"

Gohan laughed, adjusting his glasses. "Yeah. When they were younger, they never taunted each other; just fought each other. They've never had a chance to learn the art of taunting."

"KAMEHAMEHA!" The brothers looked up when they heard Pan shout from the air, their father's signature attack flying towards Satori.

"MASEKO!" Satori shouted out, her attack meeting her twin's.

Their ki blasts made the darkened sky light up, the interlocking attacks easily seem from a distance. Neither girl was letting up their attacks, each trying to overpower the other. Upon seeing these attacks outside the window, Videl and Mei joined them outside.

"What are they doing?" Mei asked Videl, blinking her blue eyes.

"They're just playing around, Mei." Videl told her. She looked to Gohan. "How do they look, dear?"

"Well, I don't know how much training they can get done in five months, but I'm sure they'll make it pretty far in the tournament. They have my faith." Gohan told her, watching his daughters.

"And why didn't anyone tell me my granddaughters were going to be entering the tournament?" A voice asked.

Pan and Satori ended their attacks and looked over at the voice at the same time the rest of the family did.

"GRANDPA!" They exclaimed, running over to Goku, nearly tackling him.

"Hey girls! It's been a while since I've last seen you two." Goku laughed good-naturedly, hugging his granddaughters close to him.

"Dad! I wasn't expecting to see you today." Gohan stood, a bit surprised as he looked at the strongest fighter in the world.

"Goku, you've got to stop popping in like that." Videl frowned at her father-in-law. "You know I like to have things ready for when you arrive."

Goku laughed again, placing a hand behind his head. "Sorry, Videl. I'll let you know next time, promise."

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Goten asked him.

"I sensed the power levels of these two," he squeezed Satori and Pan, "and I wanted to see what was up." He looked down at his granddaughters. "You two are getting pretty strong. Are you getting ready for the tournament?"

"Yes!" They chorused, smiling. They tended to do this more around Goku than Hercule, seeing as though the full-bloodied Saiyan was more good-natured than their human grandfather.

"Are you going to enter Grandpa?" Pan asked him.

"Well, I wasn't thinking about it…"

"Come on Grandpa! It'll be fun. Trunks told me that Vegeta might enter!" Satori was bouncing on her toes.

Goku chuckled. "In that case, I will. It's been forever since I've sparred with Vegeta."

"Yay! Just like old times!" Satori and Pan punched the air, cheering excitedly.

"Well, come on everyone. Let's go inside." Videl lead the way into the house, the Saiyan clan following her.

* * *

At Capsule Corp, Bra was sorting through her purchases, separating what she bought for herself and what she bought of Satori in equal piles. Sighing, she sat on the floor amongst all the shoe boxes around her and laid back, staring up at her ceiling. Her thoughts went to her best friend, and frowned came upon her pretty face again.

True, Pan was a best friend to her too, but Satori had been her very first friend growing up. Can you believe that she was a shy girl growing up? Bra chuckled at her childhood self, letting her thoughts go to a memory of them.

"_Hi! My name is Satori! What's yours?" A five year old Satori stood in front of Bra with that signature Son smile on her face._

_Bra hid behind her father, peeking over his leg at the dark haired girl. Satori blinked her brown eyes at her, turning to look up at her Grandpa Goku._

"_Grandpa, why is she hiding?" Satori asked Goku, honestly confused at Bra's behavior._

"_She's just shy, Hotaru." Goku smiled, picking up his granddaughter. Goku's friendly smile went to Vegeta. "She looks just like Bulma, but I bet she has your attitude huh, Vegeta?"_

_Vegeta only glared at Goku as he picked Bra up. Bra's blue eyes were staring at Satori. Waving at the other girl shyly, Bra spoke. "I'm Bra…"_

_Satori smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you Bra! Hey, you know what? We're gonna be the best of friends starting today, okay?"_

_Bra smiled softly. "Okay."_

Bra shook her head at the memory. They had become the best of friends since that day. Bra soon met Pan a couple of days later and was surprised to find out that her new friend was a twin. The three clicked instantly, and when Marron came around, the trio became a happy quartet. Thinking of their friendship now, there were many secrets floating around and Bra could tell there was something dark when it came to Marron and Satori's friendship. Not wanting to think on it right then, Bra gathered her shoes and clothes and began to put them away.

* * *

At both houses, the night was winding down for all of them. At the Son house, Videl had placed Mei into bed, the five year old tired after all of the excitement of the night. Gohan and Goten talked with Goku for a while before he had to go back home. The twins hugged their grandpa tightly before they let him depart their home for the night. They disappeared upstairs to shower and get ready for bed, as did their parents. At the Briefs' home, Bra had cleaned herself up and gotten into bed. Vegeta and Bulma had fallen asleep in front of the television, the Saiyan prince holding his mate close to him as she curled up beside him. The purple haired demi-Saiyan lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling with the image of Satori on his mind. Closing his eyes, he went into a troubled sleep.

* * *

As morning arose, the sun shone into the Son home. Pan was already awake at this time, having been up before dawn to train. She stood in front of her home, throwing a combo of punches and kicks at an imaginary opponent. Her orange bandana cover her hair and her partially gloved hands were clenched into fists. A serious was look was on Pan's face as she trained. Though she may not show it, she was worried about being in the tournament. She had been five the last time she entered and you couldn't call being in the dojo training exactly, because most of the fighters trained under the Grampa and didn't want to fight her. There was no telling who she would be placed up against. If it was any of the former Z fighters, she would have a problem. She was strong, but she was nervous about fighting against Trunks and Goten, seeing as though they were half Saiyans…what scared her even more was having to fight against her Grandpa and Vegeta. Now that would be a true challenge.

Pan didn't hear someone come up behind her until they touched her. She spun around, nearly hitting her twin in the face. "Ah! Sorry, Satori!"

Satori blinked her sleepy eyes, noticing that her sister's fist wasn't too far from her face. "Why are you up so early Panny?" She asked, covering up a yawn with her hand.

"I'm training. I was going to wake you up, but I decided to just leave you alone." Pan studied her twin, noticing that she hadn't gotten out of her night clothes yet. "Aren't you going to get ready for work?"

Satori lifted an eyebrow. "Panny, it's the weekend."

Pan blinked and lightly hit herself in the head. "Doh! You're right. Guess I got a little confused on the days." She said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

Satori chuckled. "Hey, I was going to go to Capsule Corp after I changed clothes. Want to go with me?"

"Go to Capsule Corp for what?"

"Well, since we're entering the tournament, I wanted to get some intense training done. Maybe go to the gravity machine with Trunks and spar a little. You can join if you wish."

"Sounds like fun." Pan shrugged her shoulders. "Alright, let's go." She told her sister as they went into the house.


End file.
